Legend
by Pandora's Crate
Summary: After losing to Sasuke at the Valley of the End, Naruto is attacked by the villagers and almost killed. He flees the village to train in peace and eventually ends up in Sunagakure. T for violence, language and innuendo; rating may change. NaruHina, others
1. Enough Is Enough

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Naruto, Itachi would've killed Sasuke, Jiraiya would still be alive, and Naruto wouldn't be so ridiculously underpowered. None of these are the case, so I guess Kishimoto still owns it.

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking**_

"**Jutsus"**

* * *

**Premise:**

The story starts the night after Naruto and Sasuke's battle in the Valley of the End. Most of what happened before this point is canon, any differences will be denoted by A/N.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Enough is enough**

* * *

Midnight in Konohagakure was usually quiet and peaceful. The tranquility was broken tonight by the harsh glow of fire and the excited shouts of the village's residents. Today was a great day, for today the demon boy was going to die. The palpable stench of bloodlust filled the air as citizens ran by carrying whatever weapons they could find, and certain of the ninja rushed about almost too fast to spot.

There! The demon brat, the Kyuubi's spawn, the devil child. Clad all in orange, the boy fled from the crowd, and the chase was on.

Naruto's chest was burning. It felt like he had been running for hours, and yet the mob behind him showed no signs of tiring. It was worse than usual. This time it wasn't just the citizens; there were ninja in that crowd. The Third had managed to keep the ninja mostly under control, but with him dead…there was very little stopping them from expressing their rage and hatred. Tsunade spent too much of her time drunk to deal with any problems. He was also tired and injured, with a sizeable hole in his 12-year-old body from Sasuke, and that didn't help his escape effort much either. It wouldn't be long before he would have to start calling on the fox's chakra. He was starting to burn out, and he wasn't near any of his little hidey-holes where he would normally wait out the hordes that hunted him.

As the boy raced through the streets, though, he noticed that the area seemed familiar. Not having time to dwell on this, though, he kept running. At the first intersection he came to, Naruto took a right. _Hey, isn't that Sakura's house? It is! I can hide there! She might be violent sometimes, and __**way**__ too obsessed over Sasuke-teme, but we're teammates after all. Her mother hates me, but she's not there much so I should be safe._

His mind decided, the boy raced towards the home of his 'crush'. Stopping abruptly at the front door, he knocked frantically. Soon enough, Sakura opened the door.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing here? It's so late!"

_Ok, now act infatuated._ He grinned impishly and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, hi Sakura-chan. I was kinda wondering if you could – ." He never got any further, as she cut him off impatiently.

"You went after Sasuke, right? Where is he?"

He hung his head. "…Sakura-chan…I tried, I really did…Sasuke…he – he left. To go to Orochimaru."

Silence. He began to raise his head, and was greeted with a fist to the stomach. Already weakened from his fight earlier that day, he was unable to keep his balance and fell to his knees.

"Sa-Sakura-chan…"

Another blow to his chest knocked him to the ground. Sakura started screaming at him.

"Dammit Naruto, why the hell didn't you get him back? You **promised** me! You promised you'd bring back Sasuke-kun! What is it that you always say? 'I never break a promise cause that's my nindo, my ninja way?' You failed me, Naruto."

This was punctuated by a blow to the head. It hurt. Naruto felt dizzy; there seemed to be three Sakura-chans standing over him. The three began to speak again.

"You ruined everything. You always do. Sasuke-kun…Sasuke-kun **was** Team 7. Without him, we're nothing…I'm nothing…"

Gradually the 3 girls merged back into one. She was sobbing hysterically.

"I'm sick of you always failing Naruto. I hate you. I just wish you would go and die."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked back into her house, locking the door behind her. Naruto didn't move from his position sprawled out in the dirt in front of the porch. _Sakura…why? We're teammates dammit! I tried my hardest; what more can you ask for? if I used any more of Kyuubi's chakra he would've died…I tried, Sakura, which is one hell of a lot more than you can say. 'Oh Naruto, please get Sasuke-kun back for me!' You didn't do anything, and yet you think you can treat me like this? Ugh, why did I ever choose you for my pretend crush? Sure, to keep the mask it had to be someone, but..._

He gradually drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto woke up slowly, and found himself in a strange situation. It was very dark, and he was leaning against a tree with his arms outstretched. When he went to move his right arm, the pain almost knocked him out again; he was pinned to the tree by kunai through his wrists. Somehow he avoided any pain-induced spasms, and remained completely still. Once the pain subsided slightly, he began to examine his surroundings.

The area was familiar. He was just outside the village walls, near one of his favoured training spots. Usually it was an empty, peaceful area…the 6 ninja sitting nearby surprised him.

Naruto attempted to call for help, but all that came out was a croak. His throat was too dry for speech. They heard him nonetheless. Three of them stood up; a man in his mid thirties with coarse brown hair and black eyes covered in a brown cloak, a woman in her early twenties with black hair and green eyes, dressed in a blue-green kimono altered for easy of movement, and a boy of perhaps 15, dressed entirely in black, wearing a customized chuunin vest filled with explosive tags, kunai and senbon needles, with a tanto strapped to his right side.

His mute distress noises were easily interpreted. _Please, help me down. It hurts._ Instead of helping, though, the youth withdrew a kunai and spun it around his finger.

"So, the demon wants help, does it? Sure thing." And with that, the boy threw the blade into Naruto's thigh. Naruto tried to scream with pain, but still was incapable of producing a sound.

The man spoke. "That's good, Hansuke. Now if you'll just let me –"

The boy's eyes narrowed in anger. "I outrank you, Kazuaki. You can watch."

Naruto, watching this, finally understanding just how much the villagers hated him. The civilians had always shown this kind of hatred, but now that the shinobi were joining in as well… It hurt, this knowledge, far more than the physical pain did. He was an optimist by nature, and always tried to see the best in people, but for the village to hate him still, after all he had done, all he had sacrificed for it… No more. Everyone has a breaking point, and Naruto had just reached his. He watched Hansuke attached an explosive tag to another of his kunai, and realized that there was only one way out of this. His chakra was gone; he had used it all up in the fight against Sasuke and he hadn't been able to eat and rest.

Naruto closed his eyes.

_**Well it's about time, kit. I thought you were just going to let them kill you.**_

_Not today. Not ever, if I can help it. Look you dammed fox, I need your power to get out of this._

_**How much?**_

_As much as you can give me._

Kyuubi chuckled. _**I thought you'd never ask.**_

* * *

Later it would occur to Naruto that his "guest" was acting strangely; no insults, no death threats, and really cooperative; it almost seemed like the demon was being nice. For now, though, he focused entirely on those standing in front of him.

The woman was the first to notice Naruto's changing features. "Kazuaki, Hansuke – his eyes! The demon is struggling! Kill him now, before he gets loose!"

With a scream of rage, Hansuke threw the kunai at Naruto.

Naruto smirked.

He ripped his arm away from the tree, and the hole in his wrist healed almost instantly. He grabbed the improvised explosive just before it hit him in the face, and threw it back at its owner. The boy was hit in the stomach, and had just enough time to scream before it exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto had already run forward and punched Kazuaki in the chest. He fell backwards into the circle of the other three ninjas, who were just becoming aware of the problem. Naruto spun, ducked under a high kick thrown by the woman, and punched his left fist through her chest. He pulled back his arm, but she refused to fall off. The two stared each other face to face, tear-filled green eyes meeting enraged red slitted ones. With his other hand he pushed her off and she fell to the dirt and began to convulse.

By this point, the remaining ten shinobi had reached him. Not waiting for them to strike first, Naruto shot forward at the closest one and kicked him in the head, knocking him back into a tree. He reached out to his left and ripped the weapons pouch off of another of his assailants, then flipped over them towards the man he had just flattened while pulling out several shuriken in mid-air. The first was launched into the fallen man's throat. As the nine live ninja rushed him, he threw 4 more with demon-enhanced speed, and fatally injured another of the attackers. By that point, the rest had reached him. Naruto made the ram sign. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Fifteen red-eyed Naruto clones appeared, and immediately set to work; punching, kicking, stabbing and otherwise maiming the rogue shinobi. After the brutality ceased, Naruto was left standing surrounded by bodies and four shadow clones that had survived.

The young genin sat down and tried to think of what to do next. This proved to be a mistake; the second he relaxed, Kyuubi's chakra left him. It had been the only thing giving him energy. Naruto fell face first into the dirt, and was dimly aware of his clones poof-ing out of existence before darkness took him.

* * *

The first rays of the sun peered down onto the gradually awakening genin. Naruto hadn't expected to survive the night. _I killed shinobi. Oh Kami, what am I going to do now? Sure they would've killed me, but for the 'demon brat' even self-defence isn't allowed._

He looked down at himself; sure enough, while his clothes were ripped and slashed almost beyond recognition, and it looked like he had bathed in blood, the injuries were all but gone. _The only good thing that damned fox has ever done for me. …Why me? What kind of twisted fuck would seal the leader of the tailed demons into a baby?!_

He didn't have time to dwell on this though. Day was swiftly approaching, and it was becoming clear to him that staying in Konoha was not an option. _Sure, I have "friends" here. Even if they missed me at all, their lives would be better off without me around._ With his mind now made up, the only thing to do was pack. He couldn't say goodbye. Firstly, it would be too painful, and secondly, someone might try to stop him. He had to leave, for the good of his friends, as well as the good of the village.

He realized during the last attack that he was never going to be Hokage. Even supposing he was the most qualified ninja for the job, the overwhelming hatred for him possessed by most of the populace would prevent it. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, no matter what miracles he pulled off, nothing was ever good enough. Always he was the deadlast, the idiot, the demon brat… The list went on. Even the most determined of ninja had their limits. Now, his only goal was to prove to Konoha just how wrong they had been about him.

He stood up, doing his best to ignore the sharp pain in his chest where Sakura slugged him the night before. _Fucking fox can't even make a decent job of it._ Now somewhat steady on his feet, he began the walk to his apartment. No one was on the streets; it was too early for that, for which he was grateful. It meant he didn't have to deal with the glares, and the pointing, and the occasional rock._ You have to wonder what they were thinking. If I really was the Kyuubi incarnate, wouldn't I just kill them for treating me like this? Heck, wouldn't I kill them for no reason at all? And yet, here I am, always working my ass off without a sliver of thanks…it makes me sick._

He realized that he'd wandered slightly off the road. Directly in front of him was a large, well-maintained compound, complete with guards at the entrances. _Hmm. So that's where Neji and Hinata live._ He continued on, ignoring the looks the guards gave him. The pair of white eyes peering at him from a second floor window, eyes that widened when they saw the horrid state he was in, escaped his notice altogether.

Upon arriving home, he ripped off the remnants of his garments and tossed them on the floor. After taking a quick shower to clean the evidence of the battle off of himself, he dressed in another identical orange jumpsuit. He absolutely loathed the things, but shops charged him such outrageous prices that the suits were all he could afford. _First village I get to, I'm getting some real clothes!_

_Time to pack up._ He pulled out a series of storage scrolls. One of his interests was Fuuinjutsu, and he had "borrowed" several books on the subject from the library.

He opened the first of his scrolls and carefully sealed three jumpsuits into it. He had more, but didn't feel like packing things he would never use. Weapons and tools went into the second scroll, food went into the third, his instant ramen stash filled the fourth, and any miscellaneous items filled the fifth. One last scroll was pulled out, and he filled it with books; over the years, he had stolen a large number of books and scrolls on various types of jutsus, the history and cultures of the elemental nations, and various other subjects that he thought might be useful. He then sealed the six larger scrolls within one smaller one and tucked it into his weapon pouch.

Naruto sighed. He wished he could just go to the front counter and check out books like a normal person, but aside from the fact that none of the librarians acknowledged his existence, it was hard to explain an interest in "Fuuinjutsu for the Beginning Seal Master" or "Kenjutsu Katas: Dance of the Hummingbird" while keeping up his "dobe" façade. He knew that the only thing that had kept him alive this long was that the village didn't view him as a threat.

With all his possessions packed, the boy left his former home behind, not even bothering to lock the door.

* * *

As Naruto walked down the dirt road towards the main village gate, he began to feel uneasy, like someone was watching him. He looked over his shoulder and out of the corner of his eye saw someone duck behind a house.

He continued on his way, acting like nothing was up. When he was about a block from the gate, he turned down an alleyway. As soon as he was out of sight, he sprinted forwards and dropped behind some garbage cans.

It didn't take long for his pursuer to catch up. Quick footsteps approached his impromptu hiding place. Naruto remained completely still and stared at the metal can in front of him. He readied a kunai.

The footsteps passed him, and he sprang out, grabbed the person by the hair, and placed the blade at their neck. It was at this point that he realized who he was holding.

"H-Hinata! What are you doing here?" Suspicion filled him. "Are you trying to kill me too?"

The girl squeaked. "N-N-Na-Naru-t-to-k-kun…I-I…w-would n-never…" She trailed off.

He let her go, but kept the business end of his blade pointed at her as she turned around.

"Why are you following me?"

Hinata stared at the ground. "I-I saw y-you wal-walking h-home and… y-you we-were all b-bloo-bloody a-and h-hurt and I-I… I w-want-ed to kn-know if y-you w-were ok…"

_Now that's a surprise…she actually cares about me? Me, the demon brat? And apparently she isn't pissed with me because I hurt that bastard Sasuke…_

She wasn't going to attack him, so he put the kunai away.

"N-Naruto-k-kun w-why a-are you l-leaving so e-early?"

He looked at her for a moment before realizing what she meant. _She thinks I'm just going to train…well, technically I am, but I'm not coming back from this training session._

"Hinata… Some people tried to kill me again last night. I'm leaving the village."

Her head shot up and she finally looked him in the eyes; he was surprised to see her crying. "N-no N-Naruto-k-kun p-p-please d-don't leave…"

He laughed bitterly. "I have to. This isn't the first time. Eventually more, stronger ninja are going to come after me. I don't have a choice."

Her eyes were turned down towards the ground and her hair obscured her face. "W-why d-do th-they hate N-Naruto-kun so m-much?"

He hesitated, then sighed. "I might as well tell you. You'll probably hate me too, afterwards."

Her head shot up. "I would never hate Naruto-kun!"

_Wow…she didn't even stutter. How come she likes me so much?_

"Remember in school when they taught us about the Yondaime and how he killed the Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"Y-yes…"

"It was a lie."

She gasped. "H-huh?"

"Demons are immortal. They can't die. There was no way for the Fourth to kill the Kyuubi. So instead, he did the next best thing. He sealed it away."

"B-but then…"

"Yeah. He had to seal it somewhere, and lucky me, I got picked. I am the container for the most powerful of the tailed beasts." He heard a voice in the back of his head. _**Damn right, and don't you forget the honour of holding me.**__ Shut the fuck up. **Touchy today, are we?** I said shut up._

"So, now you know. I'm a demon," he commented bitterly.

"N-no! Y-you-you're not a d-demon! Y-you're j-just the j-jai-jailor!"

He looked at her. "You really think so?"

"Y-yes!"

He took the two steps needed to reach Hinata and hugged her. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

If his eyes had been open, he might've noticed the brilliant shade of red her face turned, and the fact that she was mouthing the phrase _don't faint don't faint don't faint don't faint_ over and over again. He would've wondered why he had such an effect on her. Instead, though, the boy just held her for a few seconds, then let go.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan, but I can't stay. I'm sorry. I'm going to leave, and get stronger until I can prove to everyone here that they were wrong about me. When I can do that, then I promise I will come back."

She nodded, and began to tear up again.

"Goodbye, Hinata-chan. I'll be back."

He began to walk towards the gate.

"W-w-wait! H-how long u-until y-you c-come back?"

"I don't know, Hinata-chan. I don't know."

The orange-clad boy reached the gates; the two guards were sleeping. He waved to her. "Ok, when I come back, you'll be stronger too, right?"

She nodded. _Naruto-kun wants me to train to get strong like him!_

He winked at her. "See ya later then, Hinata-chan."

He strode out of the village and didn't look back.

* * *

And that's chapter one!

A/N: Despite how this may look, this isn't going to be Dark Naruto (as much as I like Dark Naruto). This is going to be genius, Kyuubi-enhanced Naruto with a bone to pick and something to prove, but he isn't going to lay waste to Konoha or anything.

As far as jutsus go...it's probably going to be done in English (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!) as opposed to the Japanese (Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu) mostly because I want to keep it the same all the way through, and I don't want to spend ages looking up something just to stay true to the Japanese. Also, it makes my life a lot easier if I decide to create my own techniques.

For those of you thinking this is a NaruHina fic just because I listed them as the main characters...well, you might be right. It's either going to be NarutoXHinata or NarutoXTemari, and I'm accepting votes on it. You can either vote via my profile page (preferred) or by reviewing (Also nice. Everyone likes reviews!)

Remember, every time you read and don't review, Orochimaru conducts horrible experiments on a kitten. Please, save a kitten from a fate worse than death!


	2. Day One As A Missing Nin

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Ok, this is my confession. I killed Kishimoto and altered his last will and testament so now the entire Naruto franchise belongs to me! …Not! (hehe Borat was funny)

A/N: To all my readers; thanks for the reviews! You guys keep me motivated.

A/N: About the vote – Currently NaruHina is leading the race by a large margin. The pairing won't take effect for a few chapters yet, so keep the votes coming.

To anyone who thought the first chapter was cliché… yes, it kind of was. Don't worry though, I plan on exploring new territory with this fic.

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Day One as a Missing-Nin**

* * *

The sun lazily climbed its way through a clear sky over Konohagakure, and shone down upon the inhabitants of the village as they woke up and began their daily routines. As the sun peered in through one window in particular, the pink-haired inhabitant of the room attempted to ignore the yellow glare by rolling on to her stomach and burying her face in her pillow.

"Don' wan get up…"

However, her effort was futile as a cheery voice called from downstairs.

"Sakura, breakfast!"

Dammit Kaa-san, just a few more minutes…

Sakura dragged herself out of bed and wrapped a robe around herself before walking down the stairs.

"W-wha –aaa" Sakura yawned, "what's for breakfast?"

"I didn't have time to make anything special, so it's just instant ramen alright?"

Sakura stared at her bowl. "This cheap stuff? Aww come on Kaa-san, can't I have real food?"

"Sorry, take it or leave it."

With a grumble, the pinkette began to eat; despite her complaints, she was really hungry. _Wow, instant ramen for breakfast; so this is what it feels like to be Naruto_, she thought to herself with a bit of a giggle. _Wait…Naruto…last night…Sasuke-kun!_

"Sakura, what's the matter? You're white as a ghost."

"Can't talk now, gotta go." And she dashed upstairs.

Her mother sighed. "What's gotten into her?"

* * *

She flew through the shower, partially dried herself, and got dressed before dashing out the door. The walk to Hokage Tower usually took her twenty minutes, but she made it there in eight. Sakura ran through the door, past the secretary, ignoring her exclamations and straight into the Hokage's office – only to find the woman asleep on her desk with a half-empty bottle of sake clutched loosely in her left hand.

Sakura was in too much of a hurry to fear Tsunade's legendary fury upon being awakened. She grabbed the Hokage by the shoulders and shook her. "Tsunade-sama, Tsunade-sama, wake up!"

Sakura paid the price of her poor judgement when a chakra-powered punch knocked her into the wall, leaving a sizable dent. The blond Hokage stood up and gazed at the girl balefully.

"WHAT the HELL do you WANT?! Some of us are TRYING to SLEEP here!"

Sakura swallowed. She had to push ahead though. "H-Hokage-sama! Sasuke-kun is gone!"

"I know. The report came in last night."

"W-WHAT?! You already knew?! We have to send someone after him!"

Tsunade glared. "Are you stupid, girl? There are three hunter-nin squads currently on the Uchiha's tail. If they can't find him, no one can."

Sakura was calmed somewhat by this. Somewhat. "Hokage-sama, what is going to happen to him when he comes back?"

Tsunade glared again, more menacingly than the first time. "When we drag the missing-nin back by the scruff of his neck, he's going straight to an ANBU prison cell while I decide what to do with him."

To say Sakura was taken aback by this would be like saying that the ocean was somewhat wet. "W-what? But you can't put Sasuke-kun in jail! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Hasn't done anything wrong, eh? Well, let's see. Abandoning one's village in a time of crisis, defecting to another village, aiding and abetting an S-class criminal, disobeying orders, assault, and attempted murder."

"M-murder?" It came out as a squeak. "No, no no no no no. Sasuke-kun wouldn't try to kill anyone except that Itachi."

"Really? Tell that to your other teammate."

"What's Naruto-baka got to do with this?"

Tsunade lunged forwards and grabbed Sakura by the throat. "That traitorous fool stuck his arm through the gaki's chest! He almost died; as a matter of fact, I don't know how he survived! Don't tell me you haven't even met up with your teammate. He wouldn't even stay for treatment; he insisted that he had to apologize to you first."

Sakura was very quiet while she absorbed this information. "But – why? Why would Sasuke-kun try to kill Naruto?"

"Maybe it was because Naruto tried to stop him from going traitor. You think that might be it?" Sarcasm filled Tsunade's voice.

Sakura huffed. "There's no way Naruto-baka could beat Sasuke-kun."

"You're damn right. And he almost died, because he tried anyway."

There really wasn't anything more to say. Sakura left the office. She was halfway home when it hit her. _Oh Kami… When I saw Naruto last night, there was a huge hole in his shoulder. I was so worried about Sasuke-kun that I didn't pay attention. Sasuke-kun… he really did try to kill Naruto. All because I told Naruto to get Sasuke back. He almost died just because I told him to go get Sasuke back. What…what have I done? Oh Kami-sama, what have I done?!_

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and began to sprint towards Naruto's apartment. She didn't have a clue what she was going to say when she saw him, but she knew she had to apologize somehow. It wouldn't be enough – but she had to at least start making amends with him.

Upon reaching the apartment, she ran up to the door and knocked. Strangely, the door swung open when she hit it. _He must have forgotten to lock it._"Naruto! Where are you? I have to talk to you!"

No answer. _Maybe he's still asleep; he's lazy enough for it_, she thought. _Plus he's hurt_, she added as an afterthought. Sakura walked up to the bedroom door and knocked again. "Naruto!"

Still no answer, so she opened the door – and gasped. The room was completely empty; no mess, no clothes, no furniture, just bare walls. She opened the closet to find it half-full of orange jumpsuits; empty hangers told her that he had more somewhere. "Naruto? Where are you?"

A thought struck her. _What if he's hiding from me? Did I hurt him that much? Oh Kami, what if I did? What am I going to say to him?_

With rising panic, she began to search the entire apartment. It wasn't very large; within five minutes she had determined that there was no one inside. _But...where would he go? Is he with someone else? Shikimaru maybe? _The two always got along, despite Naruto's boundless energy and Shikimaru's utter lack of it. _Well, it's worth a shot._

Sakura left the small building, carefully shutting the door behind her. She started to walk in the direction of the Nara clan compound when she spotted Hinata walking down an adjacent street. _Hmm… Hinata's got a massive crush on Naruto; maybe she knows where he is._

"Hi, Hinata-san."

The lavender-eyed girl turned around. "Good morning, Sakura-san." _Thank Kami she isn't doing that annoying stutter, maybe it's a good thing Naruto isn't here. Oh well, hopefully she won't pass out when I mention his name._

"Have you seen Naruto?"

"N-N-Naruto-kun?"

_Dammit, why does she do that? _"Yeah, I'm looking for him."

"He didn't tell you?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly. "He didn't tell me what?"

"Sakura-san, Naruto-kun is gone."

Sakura was stunned. _What does she mean, gone? He isn't dead…he can't be dead. __**Dammit girl, I told you not to hit him, but would you listen? No!**__ …You again? __**Hell yeah! Inner Sakura is BACK!**__ Why can't you just shut the hell up?! I'm in the middle of something here!_

With her inner persona momentarily subdued, Sakura continued questioning Hinata. "What do you mean, he's gone? Where is he?"

Hinata shook her head sadly. "He left, Sakura."

The pinkette was dumbstruck. _No way. Naruto left? Yeah right. If I had to use one word to describe the guy that wasn't 'dobe' it would be 'loyal.' Naruto would _never _leave the village, he loves it way too much for that. But…why would Hinata lie? …Unless he asked her to lie to me!_

"Hinata, where is the baka? Truthfully please. I know him better than you do; he would never leave the village."

"Sakura-san…you really don't know him at all."

"Whaddya mean, I don't know him?! The guy's on my team for Kami's sake! He asks me out at least twice a day! Of course I know him!"

Hinata looked her in the eye. _Odd, she never had the confidence for that before._ "No, you don't. If you did, you'd know that he had a very good reason for leaving."

Sakura grunted. She'd play along with Hinata for now. "So why did the baka leave?"

"Naruto-kun left because he almost died last night."

Sakura winced. "I know about that; he fought with Sasuke and lost."

Hinata shook her head vehemently though. "No, after that. Some ninja tried to kill him late last night. I saw him early this morning all beat up and covered in blood."

Sakura was shocked. He hadn't been in _that_ bad of a state when she last saw him. "Why would they try to kill him? Who tried to kill him? How did he survive?"

"This wasn't the first time, either."

"B-but why? He's just a dobe! Why would people try to kill him anyway?"

"…I think Naruto may have been smarter than anyone gave him credit for."

"Yeah right. Are you saying he's intelligent? The guy failed the genin test 3 years in a row!"

"That wasn't his fault, you know. He can't do Bunshin because he has too much chakra."

"…Really?" That was interesting; now that she thought about it, if someone tried to make a bunshin, supposing their base chakra to be – this wasn't the time. "Whatever. Where did he go?"

"Naruto-kun left the village to train. He told me he's not coming back until he's stronger."

_That could take a while. __**I wouldn't be so sure…**__Ahh, what do you know anyway?_ _**Hey! **_"I'm not letting him go that easily. What gate did he leave through?"

"The north gate, but you shouldn't follow him."

"Like I care! Are you coming? We can at least figure out where he might be headed."

Hinata seemed to struggle for a reason not to go along with Sakura; finding none, she sighed and fell into step with the other kunoichi.

* * *

The two girls walked out through the north gates. Both had done well in tracking when they were still at the academy, so they didn't expect much trouble finding a trail.

Before they could even begin looking for signs of his passing through, Hinata noticed something. "Sakura-san…do you smell that?"

Sakura sniffed the air and cringed. "Is that…blood?"

"I think so."

The two dashed off in search of whatever was giving off the smell. It didn't take long to find what looked like a miniature war zone.

Blood was everywhere; on the ground, the trees, and all over the bodies of six people wearing Leaf forehead protectors **(1)**. Sakura began to gag. "Hinata, let's get out of here!"

Her companion shook her head. "Don't you want to know what happened here? Whoever did this is obviously long gone."

Hinata activated her Byakugan in order to get a clearer picture. "Ok" – she pointed at a group of 3 bodies close together – "they are lying there like they were teaming up on a single target. That's where we'll start."

"Hinata, this is really creepy, let's just go tell the Hokage."

"Just wait a moment…those three were attacking someone standing _here_" – she indicated – "and whoever the target was had just taken out that guy." She pointed at a young-ish fellow crumpled at the base of a tree with a shuriken lodged in his neck. "Now he had to have come from over that way," – off to the left of where they were standing – "so the person they were attacking hit him from there."

She walked over to the area in question. Two bodies lay nearby; a woman with a hole in her chest, and the remains of a boy slightly older than they were. His legs were about three metres from his torso; the wound looked very rough, as if it had been caused by an explosion. The bottom half of his chuunin vest was gone. "Now from where they were facing, the person these six were attacking was off to the west."

When the two looked west, one area in particular jumped out at them. A particularly wide tree had blood all over the front of it, and there were kunai thrust into it.

"Hinata…I think someone was executed here. Look; the kunai are where someone's arms and legs would be, and all that blood…whoever was here got tortured before they were killed."

Hinata shook her head. "All the other bodies are right where they fell. Why would this one be different? Why would the person be taken down?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe…" Nothing came to mind.

"I think that the killer was held here."

"No way. After losing that amount of blood?" Sakura indicated the tree behind her. Indeed, it was caked on all over the bark, and had spilled down onto the forest floor, entirely covering a bed of moss that had been growing there. "Who can take that kind of punishment and then still get up and kill everyone nearby?"

"Well it's not like they didn't deserve it; the ninja here had to have been the ones torturing whoever it was."

A slight sound caught both of their attentions.

"What was that?"

Upon closer inspection, they found that one of the ninja presumed dead was still alive; a middle-aged fellow shrouded in a brown cloak. Hinata recognized him as one of the village's genin, relatively well-liked by the civilians. She had always thought he was a bit creepy. And here he lay now, with a massive gash from his right shoulder to his left hip, and his neck bent at a crazy angle.

"Sakura..."

"I'll get a medic-nin!"

"It won't help…he only has a minute or so left." Hinata knelt down and faced the dying man. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"Y-yessss…"

"Who did this to you?"

"…It – it was the demon."

Hinata gasped. _Naruto? Why would he do this? _Then she remembered the crucifixion setup on the tree and realized exactly what they had done to her beloved Naruto-kun.

* * *

Sakura took a step back from Hinata. She couldn't hear what was being said, but suddenly the air was filled with Hinata's killing intent. She had always thought Hinata was a sweet girl incapable of anger, but the sheer animalistic rage pouring off the girl made her change her opinion.

She clearly heard Hinata's next words. "Why?! Why would you do this to him?" The dying man's lips moved. "You wanted some fun?! You thought it would be fun to kidnap and torture an innocent boy who has suffered more than you will ever imagine?!" The man's lips moved again, and his eyes began to close. "I don't care if you found him or not!" Hinata screamed. "You _bastard_!"

Her blood limit was already activated. She jabbed the man with a Jyuken strike to the heart; he gasped in pain and then went limp.

_Sweet Kami…Hinata just killed that guy!_"Why the hell did you kill him, Hinata?"

No response.

"Hinata, answer me, dammit!"

The blue haired girl's head slowly came up to face Sakura. Hinata's eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and rage. "They did this to Naruto-kun."

_What?!_ It took a moment for her mouth to catch up to her brain. "What?!"

Hinata started screaming again. "These bastards tortured Naruto-kun!"

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Sakura was shocked. "Why? Why would they do this?" She thought for a moment. "How did he escape?"

"He killed the other five."

"Wha – but – no, that's – how – I" –

"Sakura, answer me a question."

"W-what?"

"Naruto is really good at escaping; remember his pranks, and how he could avoid ANBU for hours? They couldn't possibly catch him; it was 4 genin and 2 chuunin. They couldn't catch him."

"…I don't see what you're getting at. Obviously they caught him."

"No, they didn't, Sakura. They found him."

"What do you mean, they found him?"

"That man said that they found Naruto-kun unconscious, on your front porch."

Sakura didn't have time to say anything, as Hinata's fist came up and grabbed her by the collar, dragging their faces together. "You are going to tell me _exactly _why Naruto-kun was unconscious on your front porch."

Sakura gulped.

* * *

About half an hour later, an odd sight could be seen near Hokage Tower. A blue-haired Hyuuga was carrying a pink haired girl across her back; the pink haired girl appeared dead, but for her wild eyes.

_Flashback Begin_

_Sakura screamed as Hinata started hitting her. "I can't kill you Harano, but I'm going to take you to the person who can. Until then, I'm subduing a criminal. Two palms! Four palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!_

_It kept going long after all of Sakura's tenketsu were sealed._

_Flashback End_

The Hyuuga carried the other girl up the steps and into the building. The secretary looked surprised.

"Shizune-sama, I must speak with Hokage-sama immediately."

"Uh…very well. You may go in."

Hinata stalked into the Hokage's office, still carrying Sakura. Upon entering, she dropped her in front of the surprised Hokage and began to relate the entire events of the morning, starting from when she saw Naruto staggering home.

With each word, Tsunade's face grew darker.

* * *

"That will be 2768 ryo (about 30 US dollars). Thanks for your patronage!"

Naruto smiled at the shopkeeper, who had kindly reduced the price of clothing to a young ninja travelling alone. "Thank you again. If it's not too much trouble, do you mind if I put on my new clothes here?"

The man took one look at the orange jumpsuit and chuckled. "You already know where the change room is. Go for it kid."

"Thanks!"

He got changed as quickly as possible. _Finally free of those horrible jumpsuits! Orange is a great colour, but that much of it, all the time? I felt like a brighter version of Lee!_

Now clad in some of his newly purchased clothing, he took a moment to admire his new fashion in the mirror. The pants were similar to his old ones, only black. His old sandals were replaced by a set of steel-bottomed getas. White bandages were wrapped around his lower legs, and black cloth fingerless gloves were pulled up to his wrists. But his favourite part of the outfit was his new shirt. It was relatively form-fitting; not enough to restrict movement, but enough that it wouldn't get in the way. It was also black, with the kanji for 'fox' in a dark red on the back. When he had asked the shopkeeper about the odd choice for a decoration, he was informed that in the village, foxes were thought to be good luck, and if you saw one it was a sign that something good was going to happen during the next week.

After exiting the change room, he said a final goodbye to the shopkeeper (and gave him a promise to buy all his clothes here if he came back) and headed outside. There was a weapon shop just across the street, and he wanted his own katana. He had been practicing Kenjutsu for three years now, using sticks that he had carved into the shapes of swords.

When he went inside, he again marvelled at how nice everyone was to him. "Ninja?" the man behind the counter asked. Naruto nodded. "Great, haven't seen many of you coming through lately. What can I help you with?"

"How familiar are you with Kenjutsu?"

"Ah, so it's a katana you're after."

"That, and a tanto as well."

"Fair enough. Do you have a particular style?"

Naruto frowned. He hadn't been expecting that question. "Does it make a difference?"

The man laughed. "How familiar are _you _with Kenjutsu?"

"I have books on several styles, and taught myself two: _Dance of the Hummingbird_, and _Arms of the Snapper_.

"Indeed. Two very different styles, yet used properly, they complement each other nicely. _Dance of the Hummingbird_; elegant katas, with very quick blows lacking in power. Emphasis on dodging as opposed to blocking. Excellent for overwhelming a weaker enemy or wearing down the guard of a stronger one. Also, due to the rapid movements, it is one of the best styles to use against multiple opponents. And then _Arms of the Snapper_; that would be what you wanted the tanto for, yes?"

Naruto nodded.

"A rare style that focuses almost completely on defence. Initial attacks are non-existent. The only form of offence is the counter-attack…a dangerous game. Used properly, the enemy will be thrown off balance by the unique method of blocking, and then counter-attacks are focused on critical points. But that's the risk: you have to block whatever they throw at you. Also different in that unlike most styles, where the katana is wielded with both hands, it is held only in the dominant hand and is used exclusively for blocking. All counter-attacking is done with the tanto; it can be used to strike very accurately, but you must first get within range, and that is done via the use of the katana.

Naruto whistled appreciatively. He expected the man to know of the _Dance of the Hummingbird_; it was one of the most popular Kenjutsu forms due to its versatility and effectiveness. Much less know was _Arms of the Snapper_; very few still used the old style. It was, however, the perfect counter to Dance of the Hummingbird, as it used the opponent's own speed and strength against them.

The man spoke again, "Now, with that said, different blades suit different forms. You've made a good choice, though, because both styles you mentioned use a slightly shorter, lighter blade with a longer handle for increased grip and manoeuvrability. Something like this one." He reached up and took a sheathed blade down from a storage rack, and handed it to Naruto.

It was quite the blade; a little less than three feet long not including the hilt, which was about a foot long. It was perfectly balanced. The hilt was black leather with a red strip twining through it. The blade design was simple, but for an engraving of a fox's head on both sides just above the cross-guard, which looked almost like the Kanji for "Complete." **(2)**

"Wow."

"That's one of the finest swords I've ever seen, kid. It was the last sword that the forger ever made."

"How much is it?"

"Before we worry about that, let's you and I head out back and see if it suits you."

Naruto chuckled, a little embarrassed by this mistake. "Right."

* * *

"You have, without a doubt, the most bizarre talent I have ever seen."

Naruto looked at the weapons merchant. "Uh, was that a compliment?"

"You know both forms very well, that's obvious. How long ago did you start training?"

"Um…about three years?"

"Well, kid, it takes most people over six years to master as many katas as you went through here. I've never met anyone who I would say was born to wield a katana, but you're probably the closest I've found to someone who deserves that title. What I want to know is this: since you obviously know your way around a sword, why does this one – something feather-light, compared to most of the others on the market – seem to throw you off-balance? You could be far faster and more accurate if you weren't overshooting your targets like that."

"Eh, he he he…well, to be completely honest… I've never used a real sword before."

The man's jaw dropped. "Huh?"

"Well…you see, back home I…wasn't able to buy a sword."

"What? Why is that?"

"…It doesn't matter. The point is that I trained with wooden swords I made myself."

The merchant thought about it, then nodded. "I can see where the problem came from then. You're going to have an interesting time re-learning all of the katas; you have to, if you want to fight effectively."

Naruto nodded. "I'm not worried about that; the whole reason I'm here is to prepare for my training trip."

"Not satisfied with your current strength, kid? Got something to prove?"

"…Yes, you could say I have something to prove…"

The man seemed to notice that it was a sore subject.

"Fair enough. So, I think that one would suit you rather well, let's go see about that tanto, shall we?"

* * *

About half an hour later, Naruto exited the shop with a smile, giving the man a cheery wave when he left. He had found a tanto that he liked, scabbards for both his new acquisitions, and had been given a fifty percent discount, just because "if you're going to be gone indefinitely, you could use the money."

He headed back to his hotel, gave a wink to the girl at the front counter – _Is she blushing? He he…I really do look good, don't I?_ – and headed up to his room on the second floor. He stayed there just long enough to drop off the rest of his new clothes and then headed back out. He had spotted a clearing just outside the village, and intended to train until dark.

_Day one of my life as a missing-nin…so far, it's been pretty good!_

Upon arrival, he smirked. His shadow clones were the be-all and end-all of training, with their ability to give the user any gained knowledge and skill.

_Time to get started_. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

* * *

Chapter 2, complete!

This was originally going to be around 4000 words, maybe a bit less...but there was just so much I wanted to put in! So I went over a little.

I realize that this focuses a lot on Sakura...that won't be the case in the chapters to come. She's going to be more of a minor character, thrown in occasionally when I feel mean and want to take it out on a particular pink-haired banshee.

To anyone who requested that Hinata beat down Sakura...that little scene was for you. More on how that gets resolved next chapter; also, I'm introducing Jiraiya!

If anyone thinks that me giving Naruto a sword is overused... I like swords, and the katana is the only weapon beyond unarmed martial arts that I have any formal training in. I learned the basics of its use through Hapkido, which I did for several years. So yeah, it's not very original, but I can relate better and write better training / fight sequences.

With a little luck, I will be able to update a few more times before I really have to start cracking the books. I can't support myself off writing; I can support myself once I get my degree. So that takes precedence.

Hope you guys enjoyed it, now remember to review!

Because every time you read and don't review, Sasuke-teme uses a Katon jutsu on a puppy. Please, think of the puppies!

* * *

**(1)** If anyone remembers the proper name for them, please let me know.

**(2)**If you watch Bleach, think Tensa Zangetsu, with a shorter steel blade (i.e. not black) and no chain.


	3. Finding The Toad

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own Naruto. I have an orange shirt; does that count for anything?

A/N: Ok, I think the results of the poll are obvious. NaruHina it is. Thanks to everyone who voted!

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Finding the Toad**

* * *

The sound of rain on the roof of his hotel woke Naruto earlier than normal. For a moment, he didn't realize where he was; nothing nearby felt familiar. Then the memories of the past forty-eight hours came crashing home. _Well, it's been quite the ride…almost died twice, betrayed by two people I considered friends, found a true friend, went AWOL from Konoha, and then trained my ninjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu until I almost passed out from exhaustion._

He checked the clock. _5 in the morning?! How lame is that?_

He rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

* * *

About three hours journey from where Naruto was resting, Hinata was awakened by the rain as well. Similarly to her blond crush, the events of the past couple of days ran through her mind. To her, though, more important than the events themselves was the lesson she had taken away from them. Naruto had always been her role model; with his strength, positivity, and determination it was hard _not_ to look up to him. Always, though, he had followed the rules. In her attempts to emulate him, this meant following all of the clan laws, and obeying her father in everything. When she was unable to obey her father's orders, that meant she wasn't able to act like Naruto. But ever since he left, breaking free from the bonds that held him, Hinata felt a strange sense of peace. Maybe it was ok to stand up for herself. Maybe she could be strong, too.

Hinata had felt far more confident ever since Naruto had left; a feeling that helped her deal with the pain of his leaving coupled with the anger at his treatment.

* * *

Nearby, a young girl with pink hair was not awakened by the rain. She was already awake, having been unable to sleep. Tsunade had revealed to the village what Sakura had done; as a result, she had obtained near-celebrity status with the majority of the civilians, and some few of the ninja. Her friends, 

however, would have nothing to do with her. The only time this changed was during group training; if they were told to pair up and spar, Sakura became _very_ popular.

She winced. Moving hurt. Not only had she been denied healing after Hinata beat the crap out of her, but then she had been ordered to spar. The remaining members of the Rookie Nine, plus Team Gai, had almost come to blows over who would be allowed to partner with her. Gai had stepped in and settled it with a coin toss tournament, which he insisted was "the most youthful way to proceed!"

Chouji had won. Good old Chouji, one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, provided you didn't comment on his weight.

Sakura sniffled. Chouji had been merciless. She had attempted to give up a few minutes into the match; everyone had completely ignored her. Only after he had beaten her across the field and back did Kakashi step in to stop the match. He then healed her just enough so that she could walk home without assistance.

Her sensei had walked the first portion of the way home with her.

_Flashback Begin_

"_Sakura… you cannot even begin to understand how disappointed I am in you. On your very first day, what lesson did you learn?"_

_She thought back. "Teamwork?"_

"_More specifically."_

"_Those who disobey the rules are trash…?"_

"_Continue."_

"…_but those who betray a comrade are worse than trash."_

"_I assume you understand my point."_

_She could only nod dumbly._

"_Good. Get some rest, tomorrow we're back at it!"_

_She could almost taste the sarcasm dripping off of his false enthusiasm._

_Flashback End_

Sakura lay still, and thought about the events of the previous two days.

* * *

Meanwhile, a blonde, young-appearing Hokage was sound asleep with her head on her desk. After the amount of sake she had consumed the previous night, it was a wonder her liver hadn't failed.

She too, though, was reflecting on the events of the recent past, albeit in dreams. The boy she considered her little brother was gone; driven off by intolerant ninja, ignorant civilians, and one girl who should have known better. And to think, she had contemplated taking the brat on as an apprentice.

Moisture beaded at the corners of her eyes. She didn't know where Naruto was, if he was safe, warm, well-fed… he could be dead already. With the only reliable hunter-nin absent from the village because she sent them after the Uchiha renegade, there was no one she felt comfortable sending after the boy; too many of her ninja would see a mission to find Naruto as a mission to eliminate the fox demon.

She prayed to all the gods she could think of that the curse of the necklace hadn't struck again.

* * *

Naruto woke up later that morning. He was pleased to see that the rain had stopped, and the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds.

He rolled over, and then groaned. He was still sore from yesterday's training, having gone all out.

_Flashback Begin_

"_Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

_Five hundred Naruto clones appeared._

"_Alright! You hundred on the far left; Rasengan practice. It isn't nearly versatile enough yet. I want to be able to make one in each hand, without assistance. For now, pair off and start working. Go work over there in the forest."_

_The specified clones nodded and ran off._

"_Next! You hundred on the far right are extra lucky! Meditation time! Work on the opposite side as the Rasengan clones; I have a feeling they're gonna be noisy."_

_This batch of clones groaned, and walked off instead of running. They never enjoyed meditation._

"_Next hundred, on the left; Fuuinjutsu for you guys. Take these scrolls and practice drawing the patterns in the dirt. Memorize all of them; if I can figure these out then I can make my own storage scrolls instead of having to buy them. Head off near where the meditation squad is, but don't bother them."_

_This order was greeted with as much enthusiasm as the last one. As they sauntered off, he turned to the hundred on the right._

"_You guys are a bit luckier. I hated watching Sasuke-teme tossing around those Katon jutsus like he was hot stuff…so I want to be able to counter. I found these two scrolls on Suiton jutsus four days ago…most of them seem pretty basic, so start with those. It looks like some of them are considerably more interesting though…how does _'**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**' _sound? Oh, or this one, the **'**_**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu'**?"

_There were appreciative murmurs from the clones; Water Dragons and Water Explosions sounded like fun._

"_There's a river about forty minutes that way" – he pointed in the direction of Konoha – "I remember it from when we arrived. So go practice there."_

"_Next…on the left. Follow the last batch, then head slightly upstream. I want you to spar while water-walking…that should bring my control up fast, and as a bonus I can get in some Taijutsu training._

_You last batch are with me. Kenjutsu. The fifty closest to me work on Hummingbird, and the fifty furthest work on Snapper. No sparring, just go through the katas. As for me, I'm going to work with the Hummingbird group. The merchant was right; I gotta build up muscle mass if I want to use kenjutsu in combat."_

_And with that, Naruto launched himself into his training, stopping only once in order to eat. He and his clones worked well past sunset._

_Flashback End_

Naruto climbed out of bed, wincing a little. He had pulled a couple of muscles yesterday.

_Oi fox, are you gonna heal me or what?_

_**Sure thing kit.**_

…_Just like that? No bargaining, no cursing me and my insignificant human frame?_

No response, other than the distinctive red chakra appearing around him. After a moment the pain was gone.

_Great, thanks fox._

_**Any time.**_

_All right, who are you and what have you done with Kyuubi? The bastard fox isn't compliant, or nice, or anything._

_**Maybe I didn't want to hear you complain?**_

_Hey!_

Naruto dropped the subject for the moment, but he certainly wasn't finished. He wanted an explanation for the fox's change of heart. He had learned an important lesson during his time as a Jinchuuriki; never trust a demon. If one gives you a gift, look for the poisoned needle. He knew that Kyuubi was up to something…but he didn't know what.

He wanted to grab a bite to eat – there was a little stand a few blocks away, and their ramen was pretty good (not Ichiraku calibre unfortunately) – and then head back to training. The clones had made modest progress, especially the ones he sent to work on Suiton jutsus. They hadn't mastered any, but had half-

completed two techniques, an E-rank that could create miniature whirlpools (useless for combat, but great for an intro to Suiton style) and a D-rank that was similar to Kawarimi, but was able to use mere water as a replacement instead of a solid. He had made very little progress with the Rasengan… it was slightly easier for him to create one of the swirling balls, but he still needed a clone to help him. Making two simultaneously was beyond him; the control required was far greater his level.

_Actually, it's beyond most people's level…that much chakra being used for two separate form manipulation jutsus? I can't think of many people who would even attempt that._

Naruto had a quick shower and then got dressed. Today he was wearing longer black pants and a fishnet shirt under a grey jacket, with the picture completed by his weapons pouch on his right thigh, a pouch for scrolls on his left thigh, and his blades secured on his back, with both hilts protruding over his right shoulder **(1)**. He gave himself a quick glance in the mirror and then headed out onto the street.

Almost immediately there was a shrill scream. Naruto's instincts took over and he bolted towards the source of the noise. The screaming grew louder, and other voices joined in.

Suddenly Naruto stopped, and frowned. He was standing in front of a hot spring, and a certain chakra signature inside felt _very_ familiar.

Sure enough, after standing there for a few moments, an older man with long white hair came flying out of the hot spring with blood dripping from his nose and a huge grin on his face. Even as he ran, he was writing in a little notebook. No more than three seconds afterwards, eleven women of various ages came running after him, clad only in towels. The screams of "Die, pervert!" continued on for a moment, before the women realized they were nearly naked in front of the gathering crowd. With yet _more_ shrill screams, all of them darted back into the safety of the bathhouse.

While hardly surprised to find the lecherous old man peeping on the innocent again, Naruto's gaze followed Jiraiya as the Toad Sage raced away. Some distance down the street, the perverted hermit ducked into the very ramen stand Naruto had been intending to visit.

An idea began to form in the blonde's mind. He headed after his former sensei.

* * *

The toad master took a moment to catch his breath. He had dashed into the first building that looked like it might hide him for a few minutes, and it turned out to be a ramen stand. Well…I am a little hungry. After waving the server over, Jiraiya ordered a bowl of miso ramen. After a short wait, it was placed in front of him. Before he could pick up his chopsticks, though, a melodious female voice spoke from behind him.

"Excuse me, but are you the great Jiraiya-sama?"

The old hermit's ego swelled. Not only were men taking note of his greatness, but women as well! He turned to look at the speaker – and was blown away. The young woman was drop-dead gorgeous; lightly 

tanned skin, blonde ponytail, and a grey kimono that left very little to the imagination. He felt his nose about to explode, and quickly covered it with a napkin.

"Hello to you, Oh Beautiful Young Lady. You have guessed rightly, for I am indeed the great Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin. Wait…I know why you have come. You wish to help the great Jiraiya with his research, do you not?"

The young woman giggled. "How did you know?"

He puffed his chest out. "As the great Jiraiya-sama, I know many things that others so not."

She giggled again.

"Follow me, fair one, for my research is of the utmost importance!"

She shook her head, though. "Could you come with me, Jiraiya-sama? I know just the place for your research to be conducted."

The old lecher's head was spinning. Usually by this point, the woman he was chatting up would have slapped him silly and stalked off. Instead, this one even offered her own place for his research. He giggled slightly, then tried to hide it. "But of course, my dear, lead the way, for today it is your good fortune to be able to assist the great Jiraiya!"

She walked out of the ramen stand, turned back, and crooked a finger. The sannin followed blindly, not even noticing that his ramen had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a suspiciously empty bowl behind.

* * *

Jiraiya had been following the blonde for about twenty minutes. "How close are we, my dear?"

She giggled again. "Almost there, Jiraiya-sama."

She walked past a tree, and he momentarily lost sight of her. When he rounded the tree, she was still nowhere to be seen, though.

Before he could begin to search for her, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Classic Ero-sennin. Thinking with the wrong head again, huh?"

Jiraiya spun around to find his former pupil. Naruto stood behind him with a smirk on his face. Now that he thought about it, the woman _did_ look a lot like Naruto's Orioke no jutsu; altered hairstyle, lack of whiskers and the presence of actual clothes were the only differences he could find.

_Damned brat…getting my hopes up. At least his fashion sense has improved; my eyes watered every time I saw that jumpsuit. So much orange!_

"What the hell do you want, brat?"

"Simple, ero-sennin. I want you to train me."

A large number of questions, as well as some memories, flashed through the white-haired man's mind. He voiced the most obvious of them.

"And just why would I want to train you in the first place?"

Naruto smiled. Jiraiya didn't like the smile. The brat's old smiles were filled with confidence and happiness; this one made him look crafty.

"Simple, really. If you agree, then you have to train me until I'm stronger than the Hebi-teme."

Jiraiya cut him off. "That's hardly an incentive. I think I'll leave now." He turned, only to hear the blonde speak again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't know what will happen if you refuse."

The hermit turned back with a disgruntled expression on his face. "Spit it out, brat. I have things to do today."

"If you refuse to train me, two things will happen. First, I will give this key to those women at the hot spring, and tell them _exactly_ whose room it is."

Jiraiya looked at the key. It was quite plain and ordinary, but it seemed familiar somehow. Where had he seen that before…wait. His hands jumped to his pockets. With a rising panic, he felt around in his various pockets and pouches, only to discover a sad truth. Both of the keys to his hotel room were gone. _Crap._

"How did you get that?!"

"Simple, really. I pick pocketed you while you were staring at my transformed Kage Bunshin. You were quite oblivious; I ate your ramen too. The miso was much better than the beef I had last night."

_Shit. Time to bluff. _"I'm not worried about it; I still have another key. I can run back, grab my things, and leave before you can make the handoff."

Naruto smirked again. "Oh, do you mean the key that's currently in the hands of my other clone, the one busy collecting all of your perverted little notes?"

Jiraiya's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He eventually managed a bit of a squeak. "T-t-that's prime research, brat! It took me five years to get all of those notes!"

"Well, they're in the process of being hidden very carefully. So if you ever want them back, I hope you'll reconsider your answer."

_Minato, wherever you are, I just know you're laughing at me. This kid is far more manipulative than you and Kushina were combined._

"Fine, brat. We'll play by your rules for now."

"Glad to have you onboard, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. The kid had ever once called him that before. Something was definitely up.

"Naruto…why do you need me to train you, anyway? Don't you have Kakashi for that?"

The blonde looked at the ground. "Not anymore."

Jiraiya began to worry. "Why not? What happened to Kakashi?"

Naruto gave a short laugh. It was completely absent of humour. "Kakashi-sensei is fine, Jiraiya-sensei. I left the village."

The hermit's jaw dropped. Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja, had gone missing-nin?! "What?!"

"It's not like I had a choice. They tried to kill me again."

_Oh Kami, how did I miss this? Will you ever forgive me, Minato?_ "Who is 'they'?"

"The idiots who figure that I'm Kyuubi."

_Great. So these are Konoha's true colours. The Yondaime trusted all of you to treat this boy with respect for the sacrifice he made, and this is how you repay him?_

"Naruto…don't worry about the notes. I'll train you, for as long as you need until you can prove them wrong."

The blonde looked up, grateful that his new sensei had figured out his reason for the training trip. "Thank you…Jiraiya-sensei."

* * *

Not long after that, in Konoha two kunoichi were talking. One was wearing a tan trench coat over a fishnet shirt, while the other was dressed in typical Hyuuga Main House attire.

"Well, when you put it that way…sure. Me and Kurenai will do everything we can to help you get stronger."

Hinata gave a slight smile. "Thank you…Anko-sensei."

* * *

Much later that night, in an underground fortress in Ta no Kuni, called by some Oto no Kuni, a youth with black hair and crimson eyes sat on a stone slab. A deathly pale man and his white-haired assistant were talking to him, but he ignored them for the most part, only picking up a few words here and there. "…power…Sharingan…fools…Konoha will…last Uchiha…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

Eventually he realized something had been said that required an answer. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."

* * *

(1) Not sure if anyone's actually tried drawing a sword that is sheathed on their back…but it's rather awkward unless your reach is longer than the blade length. However, it looks cool, so I'm using it anyway. Besides, this is Narutoverse, where little things like the Space-Time Continuum and the Laws of Physics are bent and/or broken on a regular basis. Check out the "46 Laws of Anime" on my profile for a bit of a laugh.

* * *

**Announcement:** NEW VOTE! When I fully reintroduce Sasuke, I plan on doing one of three things with him:

a) Make him an evil, twisted emo son-of-a-bitch who plans to kill Naruto for the Mangekyou Sharingan, after Orochimaru unsuccessfully possessed him (similar to the canon; not my favourite idea, but it's a possibility – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight)

b) Make him in love with Sakura (there will be NO SasuSaku pairing…it will be Sasuke longing for something he can't have – can't give reasons, but it involves Sasuke bashing and Sakura bashing; this is probably my favourite idea – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight)

c) Make him gay, and attracted to Naruto. This would never actually lead anywhere; it would be purely for humour purposes as I don't write yaoi. If you do, that's fine, but I don't. If I take this path, Sasuke will not fight Naruto; or anyone else for that matter (if this is the path taken, Sasuke will not be beaten up or anything, and will be a minor character used for comic relief)

To vote, either send me a review or else use the poll on my profile.

* * *

A/N: Found enough good websites with either a English/Japanese translator or a sizable list of jutsus to allow me to do all of my techniques in Japanese.

Next time: Yes, I'm pulling out the infamous time skip. The characters are going to be catapulted seven years into the future. While I'm not normally a fan of time skips, the idea of trying to make seven solid years of training interesting doesn't appeal to me. I could probably put together a chapter or two purely based on the events of the training arc, but it would be pretty sketchy; this happened in year one, this in year two, etc...if there's information I want you guys to know from the training arc, I'll put it in via flashback.

A/N: About Hinata's teachers: I didn't use Tsunade because I don't want Hinata as a super-strong medic-nin. That's Sakura's role from canon, and I refuse to have my Hinata be anything like her. So, I'm giving her Anko (who is decent with seals, has her own summoning contract, and is great with ninjutsu, if not at Kakashi's level) and Kurenai, the genjutsu mistress. Sakura will end up training with Tsunade, but don't hate me for giving her a good teacher, I have BIG plans for this :)

I doubt I'll be able to update before exams, but who knows? Keep the reviews coming! I love hearing about what you liked, what you didn't like, any thoughts, suggestions or anything else you want to tell me. So no threats for if you don't review this time, just a humble request from an author who hopes people like his work.

Ja ne!


	4. Emigration

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Not so sure I want Naruto anymore…Kishimoto is killing off my favourite characters one by one. Maybe I'll start up my own manga with the same basic plotline… Nah. Stick to fanfics, where I can resurrect, kill, matchmake, and otherwise play god with Kishi's creations. So yeah…the point of this is that I don't own Naruto. Sic your lawyers after someone who's trying to profit.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Exams are over and I can finally return to writing.

A/N: I lied last chapter. I said this chapter would be the time-skip. It isn't. A big thank-you to **Vilkath**, whose comments inspired part of this chapter, also Shigyakuteki Hyousha and General Blackout for the corrections they made.

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Emigration**

* * *

"Well well well, if it isn't the Kyuubi brat. In multiple, no less."

Naruto's head snapped around he almost got whiplash. Watching his clones train were four Konoha ANBU, two men and two women. Luckily they hadn't seen the original Naruto yet, but it was only a matter of time before they realized that all the cloned in front of them had far less chakra than he did. Escape was going to be difficult; they were only twenty metres from his position. If he moved, they would be all over him.

One of the clones was smart enough to take initiative. "What do you want from me?"

It was impossible to see their faces, but Naruto would have wagered everything he had that the four were smirking.

The one with the Boar mask spoke. Naruto assumed he was the leader. "While you were in Konoha you were protected. Now that you've left, there is nothing stopping Lord Danzo from eliminating a threat to the village."

_Danzo…hmm. The name sounds familiar. Where do I – the council! Damn them._

The outspoken clone answered. "Great. More people after my head. Can't you fools see I'm not the fox?"

Hare mask answered. "Surely you don't expect us to believe that a little boy could restrain the power of the strongest tailed demon?"

The clone glared. "Maybe not, but you should have more faith in the Yondaime's seal. I haven't attacked the village, no matter how horribly I was treated."

Snake seemed pissed by this. "You were just biding your time until you were powerful enough to attack again!"

"Really? Kyuubi didn't have any problems the first time around until the Yondaime sealed him away. Why the hell would he wait?"

Somewhere deep in Naruto's mind, an otherworldly being let out a dark chuckle.

The clone continued. "I've never done anything to hurt Konoha. Everything I do is to protect my village! Why is everyone so blind!"

"Enough of your lies, brat! Time to die!"

The four Hunter-nin surged forward, scything their way through clones. Naruto couldn't really blame his copies; they'd been training for some time and had no chance to rest. He couldn't help but be impressed by the ease with which the ANBU broke through every attempt at defence and struck down each foe; if they weren't trying to kill him, he might have asked them for pointers.

Suddenly there was a huge roaring sound. Naruto turned to see one of his clones directing a massive dragon formed from water. The aquatic shape raced towards his four assailants; three of them dodged it but a fourth, the man with the Snake mask, was held in place by no less than six clones. Before the man could Kawarimi out of the situation he was struck by the dragon, which then raced skyward. Once it reached a suitable altitude, the beast began to dive, still holding the nin in its jaws. The two crashed through a tree into the ground. The man didn't get up.

_Maybe escape isn't impossible; there are still a few hundred clones left, so if I can knock out the other three like I did that one…wait…is that…blood?_

Upon further inspection, Naruto realized what had happened. When his dragon had crashed through the tree, one of the branches had been angled directly towards Snake. He had been impaled through the left side of his chest; that was why he wasn't getting up.

The remaining three ANBU stared at their fallen comrade, while the clones watched them warily.

The woman with the Hare mask finally spoke. "You demon…you claim to serve Konoha, yet you kill her ninja! You will pay!"

The outspoken clone – also the one who used the Suiton jutsu – replied angrily. "You're trying to kill me! Why the fuck should I lie down and let you do it? This is a fight that **you** started; if it isn't going the way you wanted, it's your own fucking fault!"

Hare let out a scream of rage. "DIE, you demon!"

She shot forward, kunai in hand, and stabbed the clone with such ferocity that her arm went completely through him before he dissipated.

She spun around. "Which one of you is the real one? Where are you, demon!"

Her gaze passed over his hiding place, continued – then snapped back. _Oh shit. _The distinctive _poof_ of shunshin told him she had vanished.

"Hello, demon. Thought your clones could do the dirty work for you?"

Naruto slowly turned around. Sure enough, Hare was standing right behind him, her mask dangling from one hand, a kunai in the other. She was in her mid-twenties, and would have been pretty but for the rage marring her face.

His mind was working frantically. He had very little energy left to fight; making the clones had taken a sizable chunk of his chakra, and he'd been training in the _Snapper_ style for the past four hours. Escape was almost impossible; even if by some miracle he could get past her, the three remaining ANBU would have little trouble hunting him down.

She spoke, crushing any hope he had of finding a way out. "Hope you enjoyed your last seconds of life, demon. Say hello to the shinigami for me."

The kunai came towards him, and Naruto's eyes winced shut. Supposedly, people had memories of their lives race through their minds before they died; instead, Naruto could only think of what he had wanted to do. He wasn't going to be able to kill Orochimaru for his sins, both against Konoha and against a boy he had once thought of as a friend. He would never find out why Itachi had killed his entire clan. He wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Hinata. He would never see old man Ichiraku or Ayame again. He…wondered why he wasn't dead yet.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly to find a look of shock on the Hare ANBU's face. Her arm was raised, ready to stab him with the kunai, but she wasn't moving. Suddenly, her entire torso shifted sideways slightly; only by an inch, if that. They both looked at her waist, Naruto with apprehension, Hare with utter horror.

She screamed, not with rage this time, but with pain, as her top half fell off her bottom half, to fall with her face not far from his. He watched as her eyes glazed over. He couldn't tear his sight away from her; live and well one second, and the next, lying in two pieces, dead.

A loud yell startled him enough to make him turn around. _Jiraiya! _Sure enough, the Toad Sannin was fighting the Boar ANBU; the remaining member of the squad, a Rat, was down with a hole in her chest 

from a Rasengan. It didn't last long; Jiraiya punched the man in the face, and followed it up with a kick the stomach that launched the man into a tree. He crumpled and didn't move.

Naruto winced; from the look in Jiraiya's eyes when the Sannin turned to face him, this wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking? If you knew they were going to send someone after you, why would you stop so close to Konoha?!"

"I thought it would be ok! Back in the Academy Mizuki-sensei told me that missing-nin aren't followed for two weeks, to make sure that they're really missing and not just off doing something!"

"And you believed him? Baka! He tried to kill you! Does that tell you nothing?"

"Well…but, why would he lie about that?"

"Oh, let's see…maybe so that if you did leave – like you have – you would do something stupid, like stop only a couple hours from Konoha, so people could track you down and try to kill you – like they did."

"Well – but – I – how come – but…" Naruto's stutters trailed off. The young ninja hung his head. "You're right, Jiraiya-sensei. I should've figured it out. I shouldn't have been so short-sighted…everyone here was just so…nice. I knew I needed to move on, but I always thought, 'there's still lots of time before anyone gets sent after me; I can stay another day' and then now, I've been here for four days and I get attacked…it's all my fault…"

Jiraiya's face softened. "I won't lie to you, kid, it's partially your fault…but if the citizens of Konoha weren't so stubborn and ignorant, you would never have had to leave in the first place."

"I still should've –"

"Naruto. What's done is done. Agonizing about the past won't change anything."

"…You're right, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Of course I am. So gaki, where to next?"

"We're getting the hell out of here."

"See? **That** is what you do; learn from the past, don't live in it. Now, there's a remote plateau on the far side of Kaze no Kuni…"

* * *

Tsunade looked at the girl in front of her incredulously. "You're sure you don't want to train with me?"

Hinata nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei have agreed to teach me their styles of combat, and Neji-nii-san **(1)** is helping me with Jyuken and my Byakugan."

"Well…it's your choice."

Tsunade watched as Hinata disappeared out the door. This was unprecedented; she got letters every week from aspiring kunoichi asking for the privilege of training with one of the most legendary kunoichi of them all…and yet when offered that privilege, the young Hyuuga turned her down. _I need a drink…maybe Shizune hasn't found the stash in the bookshelf?_

Before she could check, though, Tsunade was interrupted by a downcast girl with pink hair.

The Hokage glared. "What the hell do you want?"

"I…came to apologize."

"Really. Who put you up to this?"

"I came on my own!"

_Hmm…_

"So, what are you sorry for?"

"I never knew what Naruto went through…and I was horrible to him…"

_She's learning…_

* * *

_short time skip – one month in the future_

* * *

"Ok, kid, it's time to figure out if you have any chakra affinities."

"So I know which kinds of elemental ninjutsu I'll be best at, right?"

_Damn, I like the new Naruto…barely have to explain anything._ "That's right. Ok, take this special piece of paper and channel some of your chakra into it. The paper will be destroyed; how it gets destroyed tells me what element you have. You can still use jutsus from other elements, of course, but using normal chakra instead of elemental chakra means that you have to use a lot more energy to get the same results."

"Sounds great, sensei. Gimme that paper." Naruto snatched the item in question from Jiraiya's hands, oblivious to his sensei rolling his eyes. When he put a little chakra into the paper, it immediately jumped away from his hands and proceeded to violently rip itself into small pieces.

Jiraiya picked up a couple of the larger pieces. "Well, it's obvious you've got a wind element; damn strong one too. What's a bit of a surprise is that you have a secondary element."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "Really? What is it? How can you tell?"

Jiraiya passed him the largest fragment.

"It's kinda damp…which is weird, because we're on the edge of a desert."

"You have a weak water element; explains why you had such an easy time with those water jutsus before I found you."

"Before **you** found **me**? Who had to lure you out using orioke no jutsu? Stupid Ero-sennin…always thinking with your other head."

Jiraiya looked ready to strangle the boy in front of him.

"Dammed brat…"

"Careful, Jiraiya-sensei, you still don't know where I put your notes…"

"…You fight dirty, you know that, right?"

Naruto ignored this. "So, a water element too, huh? Cool."

"A weak one. I can help you a fair bit with your water element, but I'm a little lacking when it comes to wind…"

"That's fine."

"…It is?"

"Well, we're near Suna anyway, and I wouldn't mind giving Gaara a visit…"

"Exactly what does this have to do with your wind element."

"Gaara has a sister. Take three guesses what her specialty is."

"Not bad, kid. To Sunagakure, then."

* * *

Gaara had been having a strange day. He had woken his siblings up early, like usual (he was always the first up – one possible upside of not being able to sleep) and they had headed into the Tower to meet up with Baki. The moment he stepped through the door, though, he was whisked up to the top floor and informed that he would be taking over his late father's position as the Godaime Kazekage. The rest of the morning consisted of listening to some old woman drone on about the responsibilities of the Kazekage…not that it wasn't important, but he knew he had to take care of his village and his newfound 

precious people without some diatribe delivered by a pompous elder who enjoyed the sound of her own voice. They had stopped to get a quick lunch and then she had launched back into it, this time joined by a man equally old; their relationship was never made clear, but Gaara assumed they were siblings from their interactions. This continued on until the evening, at which point he had been hauled out to the village centre and proclaimed to be the fifth Kazekage. Everyone seemed to want some sort of speech from him, but that wasn't really his thing…so he told Kankuro to do it for him.

And now, lying on his back awake like he did every night, he was startled, to say the least, when the reason for his newfound care for others appeared in his window.

"Hey Gaara. Heard you're the new Kazekage."

The sand jinchuuriki stared at the blonde, who was still sitting on the window ledge. "What are you doing here?"

Said blonde laughed ruefully and scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Well…I need a couple of favours."

"Anything."

"Ok, first the easy one; I just found out that I have a strong wind element. Could you get your sister to teach me how to use it?"

"I do not see that being a problem. The two of you can start tomorrow."

"Great!"

"The other thing?"

Naruto's smile shrivelled, leaving a face devoid of emotion. "Can I stay here in Suna for a while? I mean, you're the Kazekage, right? Could you let me live in Suna, and not tell anyone from Konoha where I am?"

This was not what Gaara was expecting. Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja had abandoned Konoha. "I suppose…provided you tell me why you left Konoha."

Naruto grimaced. "It's a long story…"

* * *

Gaara was not the kind of person who got surprised easily, and even when he was, it never showed. Right now, though, he was shocked. The tale of woe Naruto had painted was far more gruesome than his own. There were very few attempts on Gaara's life, and those few always resulted in the annihilation of the would-be assassins. Naruto, during his time in Konoha, had been stabbed, beaten, poisoned, captured and placed in a cage, held without food, mentally and emotionally crushed far past the breaking point of any normal person…the list went on, each torture worse than the last. The real kicker was how Naruto had done nothing to deserve any sort of suffering. Always, he was open and helpful, 

doing his utmost to gain mere acceptance from a pack of prejudiced idiots. If Gaara had been in Naruto's circumstances he would have killed the lot of them without any remorse, yet the Kyuubi jinchuuriki never stopped trying. The fact that they would treat his friend, his first real friend, this way was enough to send him on a rampage. He would have left for Konoha already had Naruto insisted he do nothing.

"What do you intend to do now, Naruto?"

"I thought about that a lot…when I first left, I wanted to get strong enough to prove them wrong. But will that change anything? Orochimaru is strong; Uchiha Itachi is strong; Kyuubi is strong. They aren't respected; they're feared, and for good reason." He stood up, stretched, and sat back down. "I want to live in Wind Country. They aren't as prejudiced here; hell I overheard a couple of civilian girls talking about how 'hot' you are."

Gaara felt something strange…his face felt warmer than usual. How very odd. Others spoke of 'fever' but he had never been sick a day in his life.

"Gaara…are you blushing?"

Immediately following this comment, his face felt even warmer. "Of course not. You were saying?"

"I want to live in Kaze no Kuni…there's this great spot a few hours from Sunagakure; Jiraiya-sensei is already there, setting up. I can live in peace."

"Naruto, you cannot live out in the wild. There are several available houses in Suna. You yourself stated that we demon containers can find some semblance of acceptance. You will live here as a ninja of Suna."

"Gaara, I can't live in town. It would only be a matter of time before Konoha finds out that I'm here."

"You have friends there, including the Hokage herself. Live here to free yourself from the daily torture, but do not disappear off the face of the earth."

Naruto looked at him, and Gaara saw both rage and pain in his eyes. "I can't! You heard what happened! ANBU were sent to kill me. Only baa-cha…" he stopped "…only _Hokage-sama_ can order the ANBU to assassinate. Even the council can't do it. There's only a few people in Konoha that I can trust."

"…Very well. What will you do, in your new wilderness home?"

"Jiraiya-sensei is going to be training me."

"In the ninja arts, I assume."

"Yes…I have given up on being Hokage, but I still intend to be the most powerful shinobi ever. I will never be accepted in Konoha…but I'll be damned if they won't respect my strength."

"Since you're not working for Konoha any more…can I offer you a position as a Suna shinobi?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, but then he hesitated. Correctly interpreting the reason for the hesitation, Gaara pulled two objects out from a drawer. The first was a Suna hitai-ate, and the second was a customized hunter-nin mask. Instead of one of the normal animals in red and black on a white background, this mask was black, and depicted the skull of a wolf **(2)** baring its teeth in red. "Take these. You will not be known as Uzumaki Naruto, missing-nin from Konoha; instead you will be Subaku no Takeshi **(3)** and a member of the Kazekage's family."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Gaara. Takeshi huh? Kinda catchy."

"I am glad you approve."

"So when do I start my genin duties?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Your skills are chuunin level, easily. The vest will be delivered to you; I don't have any here at the moment. As for duties…for now, you are on a training trip of indefinite length, and your monthly pay will be adjusted accordingly. If any missions come up that I feel would suit you, a messenger will summon you."

"Thank you, Gaara. You're probably the only other person I know who could understand how much this means to me."

For the first time in a long while, Gaara smiled.

* * *

Three Konoha kunoichi were standing in a training field just outside their village. A young woman with red eyes looked on as another about the same age lectured a girl with blue hair and pale, pupil-less eyes.

"No, no, no! Dammit, I thought you Hyuugas were supposed to have excellent chakra control."

"Umm…it's not that, Anko-sensei…I just can't go any higher."

"You can't do better than this little runt?"

Sitting in the palm of the Hyuuga's hand was a baby snake; judging by its size, it was at most a week old.

"The Kuchiyose technique needs a lot of chakra, but…that's really the best you can do?"

"…Gomen, Anko-sensei…the clan never had much use for large chakra bases so I never really worked on building mine up."

Before Anko could launch into another rant on the foibles of the Hyuuga clan, Kurenai stepped in.

"It's not your fault, Hinata…so we just need to increase your chakra base."

The girl's pale eyes shone with determination. "Hai."

"Remember the tree climbing exercise? What I want you to do is stand on the side of this tree until you start feeling tired. When you do, let me know…this will measure your base chakra."

Hinata promptly walked halfway up the side of the indicated tree, and stopped. It was only a few minutes before she started to feel weary.

When she told Kurenai this, the older woman was shocked. Hinata's chakra levels were only slightly higher than those of Gai's student Lee…and yet she still managed to use her Byakugan and Jyuken for extended periods of time. _This is unprecedented…and everyone thought that Neji the most exciting thing happening to the clan in over a decade. Somehow, Hinata manages to use far less chakra than her techniques supposedly require. If she had the base chakra of an average chuunin…she would be able to fight far longer than her cousin. If she could lower chakra usage on non-Hyuuga-specific skills…Hinata, I think helping you get stronger just became a lot more exciting._

* * *

Meanwhile, in Hokage Tower, a certain genjutsu-covered Hokage had just made a decision.

"Fine, Sakura, I will take you as my apprentice, and I will teach you about medical ninjutsu."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama!"

"On one condition. If I hear a single negative comment about Uzumaki Naruto, I will personally kick your ass from here to Kumo."

"That…won't be a problem, Tsunade-sam – Tsunade-sensei. I was talking with some of the others…I never knew how much he did for us."

"And to think you were on his team…"

* * *

The moment Sakura left the office, a dragon-masked ANBU appeared in front of the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade didn't give him a chance to speak. "Have you found any sign of Naruto?"

He wordlessly passed her the bloodstained and broken masks of the four ANBU she had sent to bring Naruto back. The feel of his chakra residue was still tangible on one of the masks. He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

_How the hell did you kill ANBU, Naruto? More importantly, why? Why did you kill them? Do you hate Konoha that much? Do you have no faith in my ability to protect you from the council?_

Tsunade knew the procedures. Had it been anyone else, she would have added them to the Bingo Book as an A-Rank missing-nin **(4)** and posted a bounty. She knew Naruto, though, and was certain that he had a reason for his actions.

_Now I have to try to prevent the council from ordering his assassination…why is life never easy where that kid is involved?_

* * *

Naruto stood outside his new home. In front of him stood a solid cliff wall. He walked towards the rock...and then went _through_ the rock.

Gaara had supplied one of Suna's best genjutsu experts. The man had woven a complex triple-layered illusion on the mouth of the cave, and with a little help from Jiraiya and his talent with seals, it was permanent. Inside the cave, one could forget that they were in the wilderness entirely. During the two days he had spent in Sunagakure, Jiraiya, along with a few toads and a brigade of Naruto clones had turned the dusty tunnel into something that felt like home. There was no plumbing – the stream nearby had to do – but electricity was provided by the genjutsu-covered solar panels. There were separate rooms for a kitchen, living area, and sleeping quarters. It was also furnished far more nicely than his apartment back in Konoha. All in all, Naruto was quite pleased to call this place home.

"Hey kid, you get everything taken care of?"

Naruto smiled. "You are now talking to Subaku no Takeshi, chuunin of Sunagakure and cousin of the Kazekage. I start training with Temari tomorrow morning."

He eyed his sensei sternly. "And no, you are not allowed to perve her, because if she doesn't kill you, Gaara will, and I will beat the pulp out of whatever he leaves behind.

The toad hermit grumbled, and then acquiesced.

"So, we still have a few hours until sunset. Time for you to make good on your promise and teach me some kickass techniques."

Jiraiya gave Naruto a rather unpleasant grin. "I'll meet you outside, brat. Bring your blades; you're going to need them if you plan on surviving."

Naruto laughed, scooped up his katana, tanto and weapons pouch, and left the cave. _After all, no pain, no gain…_

* * *

**(1)** After his defeat in the chuunin exams at Naruto's hands, Neji warms up to Hinata and they now regard each other as siblings.

**(2)** Yes, it's a wolf mask…what with the fox designs on his clothing and sword, anything more would give his identity away far too easily.

**(3)** Takeshi literally translates to 'warrior.'

**(4)** Naruto isn't an A-Rank shinobi yet without the Kyuubi's power backing him, but Tsunade believes that he managed to take down an ANBU team (composed of 4 jounin-level ninja) by himself.

* * *

And that is chapter four! Sorry about the long wait for an update…school basically killed any spare time I would have had. Ended up getting top marks on all of my finals but math though.

To all Hinata fans: yes, I realize that she had only a cameo appearance in this chapter. This was for two reasons. Firstly, the main character in this fic is Naruto, so a greater percentage of the material will be either from his perspective, or about him. Secondly, the only thing of any importance in Hinata's life right now is her training. Some of the skills she will be learning are from canon Anko and Kurenai…but she will also be training with other, non-canon techniques and I don't want to give much away just yet. So far, she's got academy jutsus, Byakugan, Jyuken, and a fledgling Kuchiyose. So don't despair; there will be much more of her in the chapters to come.

To all lovers of Sakura bashing: yes, I gave her Tsunade, as well as some level of forgiveness. So far, she has been physically tormented; first by Hinata, then by her friends, who will eventually accept her again, if not with the same level of trust. Next, I get to break her emotionally. What fun!

The poll on Sasuke is still open; feel free to vote via review, or by using the link on my profile.

Next chapter: Everyone will be seven years older (Naruto and his graduating class will be 19, Neji, Lee and Tenten will be 20, Kankuro 21, Temari 22, etc). Same reasons as posted last time.

Now that you've read, please review! I need feedback to keep the creativity flowing, both because I get great suggestions from people, and because it shows people want me to keep writing. So, little gray button, bottom left of the screen. Thanks!


	5. Taichou

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Surprise surprise…I do not own Naruto. Who'd-a thunk it?

A/N: Whoo…Chapter Four was the most popular one (for reviews anyway) to date. A cyber-cookie for everyone who reviewed, favourited and subscribed.

A/N: This time, it's the time skip. We are now seven years in the future. There will be occasional flashbacks to deal with the events taking place in the training arc.

* * *

A shout-out to anonymous reviewer BOB JONES, who sent me my first flame (sorta kinda):

"i hate the pairing nuff said"

To you I ask the following question: Why, if you hate the pairing, do you even contemplate opening a fic that is appears when you search for NaruHina, is listed as NaruHina, and has a summary including the phrase NaruHina? I really don't mind what pairings you like; I don't force you to read my work. Would it not make more sense to search for NaruSaku, NaruTen, or NaruWhoever? I can appreciate other pairings; matter of fact, I'm working on another fic that will end up either NaruTema or NaruTayu.

Now as you may have noticed, I hate canon Sakura. I think she's an annoying useless fanbitch with a one-track mind wrapped around Sasuke-kiisama. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the odd NaruSaku, provided she's OOC (check out **pudgypudge**'s **Master of the Zanbatous** for an excellent one).

Anyway, all you've really done is annoyed me by dissing my favourite pairing, making me even more entrenched in my NaruHina loyalty, and added another review on to my review board, making my story look even more popular. So for that, I thank you.

To all my other readers who had to suffer through that little diatribe, I apologize.

* * *

One last note, then I'll shut up and get on with the story. From now on, I'll post any original jutsus used in the chapter down at the bottom, complete with an English translation and a description of what they do. If you want to use any of them, go ahead; all I ask is credit for my inventions.

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Taichou**

* * *

Tsunade stared unhappily at the small book open in front of her. The frozen face of a smiling twelve-year-old blonde boy looked back at her. The face was not what had her upset; it was the text beneath the picture.

Uzumaki Naruto, B-Rank missing-nin originally of Konohagakure. Notable features include a loud, rash personality and immense chakra reserves. Commonly used techniques include the Rasengan and Kage Bunshin. No formal taijutsu style, target relies on brute strength and brawling combat style. Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Bounty – alive: 184000 yen (a little under 2000 US dollars)

Bounty – dead: 138500 yen (around 1500 US dollars)

She still remembered the day, three years back, when the council had forced that particular decision on her. The few members who would have supported Naruto were away for a variety of reasons, and so Danzo had managed to get a unanimous council set up against her. She was slowly working to reduce the power the council had gathered under Saratobi, but it was slow going; any time they could agree unanimously on something, by law it was approved.

She also remembered that Danzo had been found dead the very next day. He had been face down in his bed, and was visually unharmed save for a small bite mark on his leg. When she had examined the corpse, though, she discovered that every single one of the man's chakra points had been completely destroyed. The damage was similar to that inflicted by a Hyuuga, but far greater; the Hyuugas merely closed chakra points. Danzo had been afflicted this way and left to die; his body no longer capable of supporting the functions necessary for life.

Upon studying the bite mark, she had found the venom of an immature cottonmouth snake **(1)**, which was very strange as they were not native to the area. The animal's toxin was not powerful enough to kill the man, but it would have knocked him unconscious for several hours.

The real kicker was that Konoha's resident snake mistress had no particular reason to hate Danzo, and was actually out of the village on a mission at the time.

Tsunade's situation had not changed for the better after Danzo's elimination, though…his will had clearly stated a successor. A retired ANBU operative named Daiki **(2)** had been named. She remembered him from his ANBU days; a very promising young man. He had suddenly quit, a few days before his twentieth birthday, to start a life as a merchant. He was often out of the village, and very little was known about his personal life. It had not been known beforehand that the two even knew each other. He had followed in his predecessor's footsteps, though, and was the kingpin behind every attempt by 

the council to undermine her authority. The young man was every bit as manipulative as the old warmonger he had replaced.

_It won't help him much, with this loophole that Shikaku found…once he and Chouza get back, I'll finally be able to rescind the Dead-or-Alive order on Naruto._

* * *

"Alright, alright, you win. Let me up."

Anko was currently lying on her back, her legs held tightly together and her arms pressed flat to her sides, in the middle of Training Ground Nine. Seven large pythons were coiled around her, tightly enough that breathing was becoming difficult. Normally it wouldn't take her long to get out of this situation, but her arms were completely numb, thanks to several successive Jyuken strikes preformed by the young woman standing in front of her.

"Well?! Let me up, dammit!"

The girl blushed. "Sorry, Anko-sensei. I was thinking…"

The snakes uncoiled themselves, then disappeared in clouds of smoke. Anko jumped to her feet, and waited expectantly while the girl pressed her fingers into certain points on her arms. The snake mistress wiggled her fingers to ensure that full movement was restored.

A voice called from a nearby tree. "Well done, Hinata, that was a new record. It only took you four minutes and thirty-eight seconds to defeat Anko."

Hinata blushed again. "Really, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Congratulations. I thought she had you with the **Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu (3)**. Using **Kawarimi** with a **Hebi Bunshin (4)** and then dispersing it to attack…very clever."

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei."

"Hey Kurenai, really? Less than five minutes?"

The red-eyed genjutsu mistress smiled at her friend. "I'm afraid so."

"…"

"Anko, stop pouting. Just be proud you did a great job as a teacher."

"I don't pout. I…scowl with emphasis."

"Of course you do."

* * *

Meanwhile, the young man who had been inhabiting Hinata's thoughts was sparring with a friend of his.

"So Gaara, you realize you can't possibly beat me."

"That is at this point unknown."

"Still sombre, eh old buddy?"

Gaara chose not to respond, preferring to send a wave of sand at the blonde.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Naruto spat out a torrent of water from his mouth that proceeded to whirl around him, creating a defensive barrier. Gaara's sand struck the rapidly spinning wall of water and was caught up in the flow.

"Fuuton: Tatsumaki!"

With this, Naruto unleashed a massive gale that spun in the opposite direction to his Water Wall. The raging liquid began to cool rapidly, freezing solid from the inside out. Naruto then jumped out the hole at the top of his newly created Ice Wall and smirked at his redheaded friend.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Gaara? I just froze almost all of Shukaku's sand."

The Ichibi Jinchuuriki's lips curved up ever so slightly when he began making hand signs in a pattern Naruto didn't recognize. "Katon: Akuma Rippuku."

A small ball of fire formed in Gaara's left palm; his right was still futilely trying to wrench his sand out of Naruto's Ice Wall.

"Oh come on, Gaara, my Ice is chakra reinforced. That's a pretty cute fireball – and I'm happy I finally convinced you to learn a few techniques besides sand-based ones – but it can't scratch my Ice Wall."

Gaara smirked, and jutted his palm out. The little fireball shot forward with insane speed and hit the ice, creating a small indent in the ice surface that the fireball sat in. The fireball then started to flatten; it turned from a little red tennis ball into a disk two feet across that clung to the ice surface.

"Huh?"

The disk began to expand outward rapidly **(5)** until it covered the entire surface of the wall, inside and out, and then it…pulsed. The flame shroud turned white, blinding Naruto momentarily until he altered his vision. When sight returned half a second later, his wall was gone, and Gaara's sand was hanging in midair, glowing red.

"W-what the hell was that?!"

"A new technique."

"Yeah, no shit Gaara. Where'd you pick that up."

"From a scroll."

"…damn you."

It was at this point that Naruto noticed how heavily Gaara was breathing. "Alright, let's break for lunch. I'm starved."

"That would be acceptable."

"Kami, you really remind me of Shino sometimes…"

Thoughts of his former home brought the memories rushing back. As always, he was filled with appreciation for the good life he had here in Kaze no Kuni. There weren't many good memories from Konoha, but the ones he had were treasured.

Laughing with Chouji, annoying Shikimaru, ragging on Kiba…even arguing with Sasuke; he missed his old friends, just not enough to subject himself to the hate and rage of the citizens who had never bothered to get to know him.

The girls, too; Sakura certainly wasn't an incentive to return, but some of the others were alright. Ino might have been cool if she could stop the whole "holier-than-thou" attitude, and Hinata…in retrospect, Hinata was great. She'd never made fun of him, and had always been kind and helpful; really it was too bad he'd never gotten to know her better. _Oh well, I did promise her I'd go back; maybe we can hang out, go for lunch or something. If the villagers give me issues, I'll just Henge. It'll be nice to see old man Ichiraku and Ayame again, too –_

"Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"Naruto, you spaced out. Are you feeling alright?"

"Did I? Sorry, just thinking. Come on, let's grab some food."

The two jinchuuriki entered Sunagakure from the front gate. As usual, the assorted civilians and shinobi nearby bowed respectfully.

As usual, Gaara looked a little uncomfortable.

"Come on, Gaara, you've earned their respect. Besides, I can't even make them stop bowing to me! I don't have a chance trying to make them ignore the freaking Kazekage."

Gaara smiled a little at this. "Well, you've earned your position as well. I still remember the look on your face when I asked you to replace Baki as head of the Suna ANBU."

"Course I earned it, I saved your life three times, didn't I?"

"Twice, Naruto. And I returned the favour once."

"Whatever, that's beside the point."

"He he. That bastard Deidara had you unconscious and helpless, and they would've yanked Shukaku from you if it hadn't been for me."

"Naruto, shameless self-promotion isn't becoming in any ninja, let alone an elite jounin and ANBU captain."

"Speaking of which, I've got a squad meeting in two hours. Guess that means training is over for today, huh?"

"Give my regards to Temari."

"For sure. You know she appreciates it when her kid brother watches out for her."

The two shared a chuckle at that. The idea of Temari, a fiercely independent jounin-level ANBU in the famous Team Oni **(6)** being _looked after_ by anyone was absurd.

Naruto turned to Gaara with a roguish grin. "Want me to 'give your regards' to Nariko as well?"

"_sigh_… Naruto, she is a subordinate ninja. I do not particularly care whether you give her 'my regards' or not."

"Gaara, in case you haven't noticed, in Suna _everyone_ is your subordinate." He took a longer look at the redhead. "Aww, ickle Gaara is blushing! Isn't that – ow!"

Gaara smirked, and the offending tendril of sand fell away after smacking the back of Naruto's head. "I would advise that you drop this subject, unless you want to have a replay of the events earlier."

"Which event did you mean? The one where you were buried up to your neck in your own sand? Or the one where I froze your arms together? Or maybe the one where –"

"Oh, shut up."

"Since I won, you have to buy lunch!"

"….dammit."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Naruto found himself in his office at ANBU headquarters waiting for the fourth member of his squad to arrive. Temari had arrived before he did, and Fujitaka Nariko had shown up two minutes later. Now, after waiting another fifteen minutes, the three were still waiting for their fourth member.

"Come on, Naruto-taichou, let me go find my deadbeat brother."

"Nariko, just stay here, he'll show up soon enough. I don't know what's keeping him, but I'm sure it's important; he isn't the type to be late for anything."

"You only think that because he's on his best behaviour. Back when…." She kept going, but Naruto no longer listened. He had bigger concerns on his mind than the perpetual sibling rivalry between the two members of his team. Remember, big shot, you got to hand pick your team. It's your own damn fault.

The two had earned their positions though; at eighteen years of age, the twins were almost on a level with Temari and Kankuro, who was an ANBU captain himself. Naruto was vaguely reminded of the fiasco with Itachi, who had gained too much power too fast, but dismissed the idea immediately; though they could do any jobs they were assigned, both teens were too full of the zest for life to carry out such atrocities. _Oh dear Kami…I almost thought 'youthful.' Damn Gai, damn Lee and that damn unbreakable sunset genjutsu…_

His thoughts were interrupted when the door slammed open to reveal a sheepish-looking Fujitaka Hiro, with his mask dangling from his hand.

"Put it _on_, perhaps, Shinku **(7)**?"

The young man blushed a brilliant shade of red to match his codename, and quickly fastened his mask on. Unlike normal ANBU masks, those worn by Team Oni weren't animals; instead, each was white, and depicted the same stylized swirl. The only difference between masks was the colour. Only Naruto's was different; he still used the red-on-black wolf pattern, same as the one that Gaara gave him, seven years ago.

"Sorry, taichou. I was just –"

"Don't worry about it. I called you all here because we're leaving tomorrow."

"Another mission?"

"What's the objective?"

"Who's the target?"

"What time do we leave?"

_At least Temari knows when to listen…oh well. I wasn't any better on my first mission._

"No target this time. We're just a diplomatic envoy to Konoha, transporting several scrolls worth of correspondence between the Hokage and Kazekage. We will then evaluate Konoha's ninja training program; Suna's academy is turning out fewer and fewer graduates ever year, and Gaara wants to improve this. We'll be there for a month, housed in Konoha's ANBU barracks, and then we come home. Should be a cakewalk."

Hiro piped up. "Yeah, it should be a cakewalk…so why is the best ANBU squad in Suna taking this milk run of a mission?"

"I requested it."

Shocked silence.

_Temari understands, but I guess I should explain to the others. Well…some of it anyway._ "I used to live in Konoha. However, they weren't able to see past the Kyuubi, and eventually I decided to leave. The rest is history. I wanted to go back to see how everyone is doing." _And keep a promise…_

"Well, if you say so boss. I guess that makes sense."

"Good. With that out of the way, I expect to see you all at the east gate at 7am sharp."

"Hai, taichou."

The twins left, but Temari lagged behind. "You sure you're up for this? I heard a little about what you actually went through, and…well, if it was me, I wouldn't even think of going near Konoha again."

"Maybe. But not all of my time there was horrible, and I had friends there."

"Some friends; have you gotten _any_ letters?"

"Temari…no one knew where I was. I made sure of that."

"Yeah, sure…but they could've tried."

"Maybe they did. I've been all but untraceable; only in the past year, after I became Captain, have I stopped Henging myself every time I leave home. I've been Subaku no Takeshi all this time."

Temari punched his shoulder playfully. "You made a pretty good brother you know; less of an asshole than Kankuro and more lively than Gaara, and a damn fine cook. I quite liked Takeshi."

Naruto grinned behind his mask. "I'm still the same guy I was before; I've just taken my true name back." He turned to leave, and his voice became serious. "It's time to see how Konoha reacts when the despised son of their greatest hero returns."

With that final comment, he vanished into thin air. Temari stood still for a moment to think, then grabbed her war fan and walked out the door. She smiled in spite of herself. _Just because he finally mastered the wind shunshin...are all boys show-offs?_

* * *

Back home in his cave, Naruto was saying goodbye to Jiraiya. "Well, that's the last of your notes. Do try not to be such a pervert in the future; you might actually get somewhere with a nice woman."

The toad Sannin just laughed. "Of course, brat. And you need to get laid."

Naruto smacked the back of his former teacher's head. "Ero-sensei. I'm not a sex-starved maniac like you."

"For Kami's sake, kid, you're nineteen and you still haven't had a steady girlfriend. I have failed as a teacher, failed horribly! And it's all your fault!"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno…I just haven't found the right person yet. I wondered about Temari for a while, but…it was like kissing my sister."

"What about that brunette, Aki or something? She was really" – lecherous giggle – "hot."

"She was only interested in my looks."

"The other brunette?"

"Was using me to try to get Gaara."

"The redhead?"

"Just wanted to sleep with an ANBU captain."

Jiraiya exploded. "She was _ready_ and _willing_ to sleep with you and you said _**no**_?!"

Naruto let out a grim laugh. "Girl was a lot more than ready and willing; after I told her I wasn't ready the third time she tried to drug me."

The look on Jiraiya's face was too funny, and Naruto started to laugh.

"So if she tried to drug you, why didn't it work?"

"Jiraiya, this is me. Kyuubi always used to protect me from poisons, and now…" he trailed off. "Now I have my own immunity."

"Yeah. Still can't believe that happened…"

"It was a bit of a shocker."

Naruto's smile returned. "So, have a good trip. I'll see you in Konoha in a few weeks then."

"Just going to meet up with a few of my informants, then I'll be there. Jounin or not, you're still my student and I'm not going to let you face those backstabbing idiots alone for any longer than I can help it."

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sensei. You don't know how much that means to me."

The white-haired man smiled fondly. "I have an idea."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

"Best of luck. Should be an interesting homecoming, Namikaze-sama."

"Oh shut up…thanks again for telling me about my parents. At least they loved me and wanted me; for years, I thought I was abandoned."

"I know, kid. I know. Anyway, I best be off, I have a meeting in Kumo in just a few days."

"See ya, Ero-sensei."

Jiraiya made a face. "Would a little respect kill you?"

Naruto winked. "Probably."

* * *

"Hinata, ANBU needs you. We are running short of capable officers and you are –"

Hinata did her best not to glare at the obstinate man in front of her.

"I said no, Inu-san. I did a year in the corps. Now, I think I might sign on as a jounin-sensei next spring for the new academy graduates."

"But Hinata –"

"I said no. Please look elsewhere."

His reluctance was obvious; however there was little he could do. "Very well. I'm sorry you feel that way; good luck with the genins."

He turned to go.

"Kiba."

"Yeah?"

"I think what you're doing is great, but it isn't for me. I don't like being away from the village all the time."

"Ok. I'll…see you around?"

"Yes, you probably will. Bye Kiba."

Hinata strode away from the dog-masked ANBU. She could feel his eyes following her. _That first date was a mistake…_

A year ago, Kiba had asked Hinata out. She had initially refused, but he persisted and she eventually accepted, reasoning that it would be good practice. To her surprise she had quite a good time with the Inuzuka heir, and the two continued to date for around a month. It was at this point that Kiba said the fateful words – "Hinata, I love you."

To say Hinata was shocked was an understatement. The two were long-time friends, dating back to before their time on Team 8. It was that side of Kiba that she'd always seen – her good friend and companion. Love, though, had never entered into her mind. The first surprised word out of her mouth was "What?!" and with that the damage was done. She stopped going out with him, and their friendship became very awkward. They weren't as close as before.

Kiba had asked her once if she had dumped him because she was still holding out for Naruto. Hinata still hadn't answered him, because she honestly wasn't sure. Kiba was a friend, not a love interest. On some level, yes, she was still waiting for Naruto to come back, but at the same time she just didn't like Kiba the way he did her. When she didn't reply, he had just nodded sadly and walked away, shoulders hunched. She'd heard he was dating a civilian woman now, but hadn't met her; Hinata hoped she made Kiba happy.

For now, though, Hinata's life revolved around getting stronger. Her father had finally proclaimed her to be the heir of the Hyuuga Clan, but his health was declining due to a chest infection that even Tsunade was unable to heal. He was becoming increasingly depressed. The man had been cruel to her in the past, but with his time nearing an end he was determined to make amends for his misdeeds, and the father and daughter had never been closer. _If only it hadn't taken this to bring our relationship around…_

She often wondered where Naruto had settled. The thought of him dying had never entered her mind; she refused to accept the possibility. She wondered whether he thought about her at all…_of course he does. He promised he'd come back to Konoha, and Naruto never breaks a promise. Right?_

* * *

Early the next morning, Naruto met his (mostly) alert squad at the east gate of Sunagakure.

"I still think you could have (yawn) delegated this to some random chuunin..."

"Hiro. We are going to Konoha, so you might as well get used to the idea."

"Hai, hai."

_Hey guys…did you miss me? Because like it or not, Konoha, I'm coming back._

* * *

Wow, I'm horrible…it wasn't very nice of me to cut it off like that, now was it? Oh well…

Anyone interested in seeing Gaara paired with anyone? That little scene with Naruto about Nariko just happened…I hadn't planned that out. So if you want to see the Kazekage finally get some lovin', let me know in a review (cuz it won't let me run more than one poll at a time) and tell me who you want to see him with. No promises on this one...the character might already be taken, or it might just be too awkward to put them together, but I will try.

Speaking of polls, the one regarding Sasuke's fate is still open. Options are as follows:

**(1) **Make him an evil, twisted emo son-of-a-bitch who plans to kill Naruto for the Mangekyou Sharingan and have Orochimaru unsuccessfully possess Sasuke (similar to the canon; not my favourite idea, but it's a possibility – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight) **Total Votes: 26**

**(2) **Make him in love with Sakura (there will be NO SasuSaku pairing…it will be Sasuke longing for something he can't have – can't give reasons, but it involves Sasuke bashing and Sakura bashing; this is probably my favourite idea – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight) **Total Votes: 20**

**(3) **Make him gay, and attracted to Naruto. This would never actually lead anywhere; it would be purely for humour purposes as I don't write yaoi. If you do, that's fine, but I don't. If I take this path, Sasuke will not fight Naruto; or anyone else for that matter (if this is the path taken, Sasuke will not be beaten up or anything, and will be a minor character used for comic relief) **Total Votes: 15**

**(1) **The cottonmouth is a small (30-45 cm) venomous snake found in Florida; they are not aggressive by nature but will bite to defend themselves.

**(2) **Daiki's name is a bit of a pun…it means "Big Tree." Rather ironic for the current leader of ROOT.

**(3) **Inner decapitation technique.

**(4) **Snake Clone. Similar to the Inuzuka Juujin Bunshin, it transforms several snakes into a single clone. Useful because when it is defeated, it reverts to snake form and can then attack again.

**(5) **If you wanna know what I had in mind when I wrote the description for this, go watch BLEACH episode 125 and fast-forward to the part where Ichigo stabs his inner hollow. Now switch out Shirosaki for a massive ice cylinder and the black stuff for red-orange fire.

**(6) **The Demon Unit; a nickname given to the ANBU squad by enemies of Sunagakure. Composed of Namikaze Naruto, Subaku no Temari, Fujitaka Nariko and Fujitaka Hiro.

**(7) **Codenames; instead of animals, Team Oni uses colours. Naruto: Kuroi (black); Temari: Ao (green); Nariko: Toroku (turquoise); Hiro: Shinku (crimson)

A/N: If you don't know who killed Danzo, enlist yourself in remedial Naruto 101 immediately. You have my pity.

**Original jutsus:**

Hebi Bunshin: explained above in point **(4)**

Fuuton: Tatsumaki – literally Wind Technique: Tornado. Unleashes a massive gust of wind that surrounds the user for as long as it continues to receive chakra.

Katon: Akuma Rippuku – literally Fire Technique: Demon Rage. User compresses a massive amount of heat into a tiny ball, and then launches this ball at an extremely fast pace towards the target; upon impact the fireball expands to cover the target in its entirety. Can be performed with normal (human) chakra but works best with demonic chakra, hence the name. When Gaara used it, he was channelling Shukaku's power to use the jutsu. (yes, he controls Shukaku now…more on that later)

* * *

You are getting very sleepy…

You are now in a trance. When I snap my fingers, the trance will end, and you will carry out my instructions…

You will submit a review…

(snaps fingers)


	6. Return Of An Outcast

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Last episode of the manga I read had Kishimoto's name on it. So I guess that means it belongs to him. Oh bugger…

A/N: Yes, the battle scene was a bit of a massacre. NO, Naruto is not overpowered! Trust me!

A/N: I want to thank all of my reviewers for their support and their comments, particularly **JH24** who has provided me with several insightful critiques, and **ArmorOfGeddon** who helped me with a grammatical correction with my Japanese.

Final A/N: Poll on Sasuke's fate is now CLOSED! Thank you all for voting!

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Return of an Outcast**

* * *

Tsunade was in her office issuing orders to ANBU Squad Two. "Alright team, you know the drill. Do three rings around the village, near, medium and far, then report back. _Anything_ out of the ordinary gets reported. Dismissed."

The Tiger-masked captain replied for his team. "Hai, Hokage-sama." All four then disappeared.

Her office now empty, Tsunade leaned back with a sigh and wondered absently where Shizune might have put her saké this time. Discarding this train of thought, she pulled out Squad Two's folder to file the mission report. She liked Squad Two; most of the current ANBU had gone through the system while she was away, but these four had been genin when she returned to Konoha. It was nice to see talented young ninja working their way through the system.

She pulled out the team listings for the four-man squad and smiled fondly at the names at the top.

Inuzuka Kiba; Mask: Inu. 

Akimichi Chouji; Mask: Rat.

Harano Sakura; Mask: Eagle. 

Hyuuga Neji; Mask: Tiger. 

Tsunade smiled briefly. Truly Konoha had raised excellent young ninja, but her greatest pride of the four was her protégé, Sakura. She had come far from her fan girl days, and had thrown herself into her studies. She was so busy training, working with her team and helping at the hospital that she still hadn't had a relationship, unless one counted the two-week stint with Rock Lee. _That must have been scary…_

She put the files back in the folder and decided to take a quick nap. Shizune couldn't begrudge her that, right?

* * *

The four ANBU members soared through the trees with chakra-enhanced leaps from branch to branch, scouting the area. Normally this would be a duty reserved for chuunin, but the last patrol had noticed evidence of human activity, and so they were sent, ANBU, the best of the best, to investigate.

Sakura was happy with her squad. She rarely thought about Sasuke anymore, and neither did most of the Konoha nin; it was only due to the council's insistence that he wasn't listed as a kill-on-sight missing-nin. She did, however, remember her other old teammate, and was still haunted by her final memories of him. All poor Naruto had done was try to please her, and she had shunned him for a boy who could have cared less. She still had trouble sleeping; every time she closed her eyes, she saw his pained face as she slammed her door in front of him.

The only one who refused to give her any measure of forgiveness was Hinata. The girl had been crushed when Naruto had left, and as a result had thrown herself into training with an even greater passion than Sakura had. There were only about five or six kunoichi in the village that Sakura knew were stronger than she was; Hinata sat second from the top of that list, following only Tsunade.

She often wondered if Naruto was still out there, somewhere; if he would ever come back…

Her train of thought was interrupted by a deafening explosion that knocked Neji and Chouji to the forest floor, unconscious.

Later it would be discovered that Iwa-nin had used shielded exploding tags to hide them from the Byakugan. It would be the one of the final steps toward a greater conflict, but for now, Sakura and Kiba fought for their lives.

Immediately after her teammates were taken out of the fight, the two remaining squad members were set upon by eight jounin bearing Iwa hitai-ates. She was too busy trying to defend herself to see what Kiba was doing, but the ones surrounding her…three of the Iwa jounin were female, and looked almost identical; the only difference between them seemed to be hair colour. All three were extremely fast and fought using the same bizarre style of taijutsu that involved windmilling arms and spinning kicks. The fourth was a massive mountain of a man who had excellent earth mastery; every time she managed to 

evade her close-combat attackers, boulders would launch themselves at her, mudslides would erupt from nowhere, and the earth itself would reach up to grab her.

She dodged an elbow, attempted a counter only to have her elbow kicked, launched a chakra-enforced punch at the blue-haired woman, missed by a hairs breadth, ducked under a blow from the redhead, was hit in the stomach by her green-haired assailant – and suddenly the green-haired girl froze up and began to fall off the branch she was standing on. A singed Neji hit her again in the spine, and she crumpled.

Sakura and Neji stood back to back, waiting as the three opponents circled them. Both knew that Neji had only taken out the first so easily because she was taken by surprise; the others wouldn't be a pushover. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Kiba and Chouji in a similar predicament. _At least they're alive…_

Suddenly a massive gout of flame appeared, blasting the Doton user into a tree. He fell and didn't move. Sakura was looking around, trying to spot the rescue party, when one of her assailants, the blue-haired young woman, yelled.

"Oni Squad! Retreat!"

It was to be the last time she ever spoke; the next fireball hit her and left nothing but a bit of ash and some carbonized metal. The five remaining Iwa-nin began to run, but none made it far. The first to fall, a cloaked and hooded fellow, was ensnared in a massive whirlwind. The air gusted with such ferocity that sticks, rocks and other nearby debris were sucked in along with the helpless nin; he was pummelled mercilessly and went limp, bleeding from a multitude of small injuries. The remaining four redoubled their efforts, but a massive water dragon appeared from nowhere and engulfed them. The redheaded taijutsu specialist managed to batter her way out of the gaping maw, but the other three were still inside when a spiralling torrent of air whipped its way around the dragon, freezing it solid and crushing the ninja inside. The final kunoichi began making the necessary hand signs for a **Shunshin**, but stopped, horror-stricken. Sakura looked down to see that her hands had been cut off, just before she was beheaded and fell to the ground, her body still twitching.

She knew they were unable to fight off this new force. They probably could have beaten the eight rock nin; the jounin weren't anything special, but after seeing all of them taken apart like that…

Her fears were alleviated when four sand ninja appeared on a nearby branch, all wearing bizarre ANBU masks. The first three each had the same stylized design **(1)**, differing only in colour, while the fourth…was something else. Easily six feet tall, he was clad in black shinobi pants, a full length mesh shirt over a grey "wifebeater" shirt that did nothing to hide well-defined muscles, steel-bottomed getas, and for decoration, a patch of red embroidery on his left shoulder; she was too far away to see what it depicted. Two hilts stuck out from over his right shoulder, and his mask, instead of the default ANBU white, was black with a snarling wolf in red. Spiky golden hair with red highlights covered the rest of his head. _Wow…I wouldn't mind getting to know this guy._

After tearing her eyes off of the divine male specimen in front of her (and thanking Kami for the eagle mask that hid her blush) she noticed a rather familiar hairstyle worn by one of the team's two kunoichi, the one with the white-and-green mask. "Temari? Is that you?"

The kunoichi in question gave a little wave. "It is. Hello, Sakura; seems you still can't take care of yourself very well."

Sakura suppressed a wince. Even now, Temari still teased her about how useless she was in that first chuunin exam when the two had met. Temari was also one of the people who hadn't fully forgiven her for her treatment of Naruto.

She decided to respond diplomatically. "Well, I'm grateful you happened to be in the area; we were –"

Neji cut in at this point; re-asserting himself as team leader. "Yes, it is appreciated. Please state your reasons for coming to Konoha."

"We're delivering letters of correspondence between Kazekage-sama and your Hokage, and will also be observing your academy and its teachers." This came in a deep yet somehow musical voice, tinged with a bit of humour. Sakura looked for the source, and sure enough, it was that _gorgeous_ red-blonde squad leader.

The wolf-masked shinobi continued. "The Hokage has already approved the second part of our mission. I assume that your squad was the escort sent out to meet us?"

"Hardly. Our mission details are classified." Neji delivered in a rather clipped tone, no doubt annoyed at being thought a mere escort.

Inner Sakura raged. _**Neji! Don't piss off Ookami-kun! He'll kick your ass!**_**(2)**

"Of course. Nevertheless, you are here, and whatever poor chuunin Konoha sent out to meet us is late. We can simply enter Konohagakure with you," the wolf ANBU informed them, still with that slight hint of humour in his voice.

Neji clearly hesitated, but he couldn't refuse them; it would be a slight not only on the four allied ninja but also on Sunagakure. _Besides, he can be a bit of a stuck-up prick, but he's a decent guy once you get to know him…_

* * *

The trip to Konoha was mostly silent. Neji was in the lead, slightly ahead of everyone else; it was obvious to Sakura that he was still grumpy over being thought an escort. Kiba and Chouji were to the left of their little group, chatting quietly about nothing in particular, and she was with the four Suna ninja.

She had made several attempts to engage the wolf-masked leader in conversation, to no avail; any questions were replied with single-word answers, and he didn't bother to say anything else. Sakura could have sworn she heard Temari laughing at her, but by the time she looked around, her fellow 

kunoichi was perfectly composed. The final two members of the Suna team, a male and female, were together, and perhaps closer than mere teammate status afforded.

They arrived back in record time due to the blistering pace set by Neji. The blonde wolf then thanked him for the escort. "Arigatou, Tora-san **(3)**. We appreciate your escort, as unexpected as it was, and I will mention it to Hokage-san to ensure you receive payment for both missions."

Neji was somewhat mollified by this; as a Branch member, he was hardly rich. "Sayounara, Ookami-san."

All four Suna ninja then used **Shunshin** to disappear; the turquoise- and red-masked ninja with swirling flames marking their departure, while Temari and the captain simply vanished into thin air.

Kiba whistled appreciatively. "**Fuuton: Shunshin**; nice. That's supposed to be really tricky."

It was, as far as Sakura knew. It was the only variant of the technique that actually required elemental chakra; the others could all be performed without it. That Temari was a wind-mistress was no big surprise, but it was an interesting thing to learn about the wolf-masked captain. _I always thought wind-element jutsus were cool.__** So very true. Now if you could just figure out what his name is…**_

* * *

Tsunade woke up with a start as four ninja appeared in her office. Her first impulse was to flatten the lot of them for disturbing her nap, but then she noticed the Suna hitai-ates. It wouldn't do to assault the Kazekage's shinobi…

"State your business in Konoha."

The leader with the red-on-black wolf mask responded. "Kuroi-taichou and squad, here for mission C-291."

_ANBU? Here for a C-rank? Is Gaara out of chuunin? And why does that voice sound familiar? I've never heard it before; never seen this guy before either. He sounds so emotionless…_

She quickly found the correct mission-detail scroll, and scanned over its contents. "Very well. Accommodations are ready in our barracks; speak to the secretary outside for directions."

"That won't be necessary, Hokage-dono. We know where it is located.

_Finally, some emotion; there was a hint of humour in that. Now it _really_ sounds familiar…who _is_ he?_

"That will be all, then. Dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-dono."

_Grr, this is annoying…I'm sure I know him…_

"Wait a moment, Kuroi."

The four ninja paused.

"The rest of you go on; your captain will catch up with you in a few seconds."

After glancing to Kuroi and receiving his nod of approval, the three departed.

Tsunade had to know. "Kuroi-taichou…what is your real name?"

He seemed surprised, then warily answered her. "That is classified, Hokage-dono."

"Very well. I order you to tell me your full and true name."

He was shocked by this, and rightly so. "You would use the law for _this_?"

"I would."

Suna and Konoha had an agreement in place; no more than once every two weeks, the leader of one village could order one ninja from the other village provided the order did not conflict with any other directives given by the ninja's home village. It had only been used twice before, and Tsunade had just invoked it again.

"Why do you ask me this?"

"Because I wish to know. Now answer me. What is your true name?"

He looked around, seemingly scanning the walls for loophole. Finding none, he slumped slightly, even that meagre hope taken from him. Defeated, he reached up and began to remove his mask. When it was undone, he held it in place, keeping his face from sight. "I want your word that you will not order any hostile action against Sunagakure as a result of this."

At her confused nod, he sighed, and lowered his head. The mask came off, but his face was still obscured by his long red-blonde hair. His head came up, and she gasped. She knew this face. There were some changes; his whisker marks were gone, and his pupils were slits surrounded by blue instead of the former circles. But she knew who it was beyond any shadow of a doubt.

"My full and true name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Naruto stared defiantly at the wide-eyed Hokage, mentally daring her to do her worst. He had once thought of her as a mother figure, but that had changed the day she sent a team of assassins after him. It didn't help that he'd seen a Konoha bingo book with himself in it, however outdated the picture and description were. So he was completely surprised when she leaped clear over the desk not to attack him, but to hug him.

"Hokage-dono, what are you doing?"

Her tear-streaked gaze met his. _She's _crying_? What the hell… _"I thought you were dead! I sent an ANBU retrieval team after you, and –"

He cut in angrily. "Yeah, to kill me! Your so-called retrieval team ambushed me three hours from Konoha! I survived purely by luck!"

She shook her head, though. "The team I sent was discovered less than an hour from the village. They had been attacked from behind. I thought whoever sent them would have tried to kill you as well."

Naruto wasn't about to forgive and forget, though. "And the Bingo Book? B-rank missing-nin, alive or dead bounty?! Explain that one, _baa-chan!_" His old nickname for her was now used mockingly.

She couldn't meet his eyes. "I tried, kid, I really did. Remember Danzo? He waited until all of the council members who would have supported you were out of the village, then got a unanimous vote to give you missing-nin status. When the council is unanimous, there isn't anything I can do."

A small smile returned, though, and she pulled out a current Konoha bingo book for him to flip through.

"I'm not in here. What, are you telling people I've been killed off?"

"Do you think so little of me? I had Shikaku go over the old laws; he found a loophole, something dating back to the Shodaime's time. Even if the council makes a unanimous decision, if at a later date at least two council members side with the Hokage against the council that earlier unanimous decision is rendered null and void. I got you out of the bingo book, Naruto."

He was still staring at her. _Oh right; Naruto never was the sharpest tool in the shed. Better explain in simple terms._ "Basically what happened is –"

"I understand, Hokage-dono. Thank you. It really is appreciated."

"R-really? You followed me through that?"

He smirked sardonically. "I'm hardly the idiot I portrayed myself to be. Let's face it, if Konoha had thought I was smart enough to be a threat, they would have killed me off without a second thought. If I was an idiot, though…well, I'd be a perfect scapegoat, but nothing worthy of much fear or attention."

Tsunade could hardly believe her ears. "You mean…all this time, you've been dumbing yourself down?"

"Essentially, yes. It's not like I had much of a choice…"

_Flashback Begin_

_Eight-year-old Naruto was starting his first day at the ninja academy. He was really excited; being a ninja would be so cool! He picked a spot at the front of the class and sat, attentively waiting for the instructors to arrive, chatting happily with the students on either side of him._

_A young man with jet-black hair and a chuunin vest walked in. He introduced himself, and then passed out textbooks. Somehow, Naruto never got one while the rest of the class did._

"_Sensei, I didn't get a textbook. Please could you –"_

"_I don't tolerate that kind of behaviour! Get out!"_

"_But –"_

"_OUT! NOW!"_

_Naruto got up and walked sadly to the door. He didn't even know what he'd done._

"_Sit out in the hall."_

"_Yes, sensei."_

_Before he shut the door behind himself, he heard the instructor beginning to talk. "Who can tell me what chakra is? Anyone? Ok, you, in the red…"_

_Fast Forward_

_Naruto had just finished his first year at the academy. Despite the teacher's best efforts, he had managed – with a little help – to learn all of the assigned material, and then some. He sat down to write the test._

Wow, this is really easy.

_He finished quickly, well before any of the other students. The boy on his right was still puzzling over the second question, while the other boy on his left was doing only slightly better. He got up and turned his paper in._

"_I'm done, sensei!"_

"_W-what is this?!"_

"_What do you mean, sensei?"_

"_You blatantly cheated off of Sanzu!"_

"_No, I didn't! How could I cheat off of anyone? I'm the first one done!"_

"_You lie!"_

_The man ripped Naruto's paper into pieces, and then threw it in the garbage. "You will stay here after school for your punishment for cheating."_

_Naruto didn't argue; he'd learned the hard way that arguing with sensei __**never**__ helped him, especially when he hadn't done anything wrong in the first place._

"_Yes, sensei."_

_Fast Forward_

_The second year went much like the first, and Naruto came to a decision. Since they hated him when he did things right, he should try doing things wrong…maybe then they would leave him alone._

_It seemed to work. He was still sent outside during the more important lectures, but he could easily work around that in his spare time. No more was he dragged in front of the class to be beaten for 'contempt' or 'cheating' or any of the other myriad excuses they had used. Of course, the majority of his classmates' attitude towards him worsened, but that wasn't a big deal; their parents hated him, it was only a matter of time. He consoled himself with the knowledge that he worked harder than any of them._

_Fast Forward_

_The third year improved slightly. He had two teachers now; and one of them, Iruka, wasn't prone to tossing him out of the class whenever something important was being taught. With this new, unbiased instructor he learned at an even greater rate, but was still careful to hide his intelligence. The other instructor, Mizuki, obviously hated him, and he had found that the citizens were less likely to attack him if he appeared to be an idiot._

_Fast Forward_

_The fourth year had a major problem. He was told to learn the Bunshin no Jutsu, a simple, intangible clone of no real combat use. The problem was that he was unable to create one. He had found out long ago that his chakra levels were far superior to his classmates, almost all genin and even most chuunin, while his control was still at a med-genin level. The Bunshin no Jutsu, however, required that the user have a high control to strength ratio, something he didn't have. When he discovered this was on the final exam, for the first time, he realized that he might not be able to pass regardless of what the instructors did or didn't do to him._

_He failed the test. It hurt, but he was hardly surprised. It came as a bit of a shock, though, when Mizuki came to him and presented him with an alternate method of passing. Prepared to give the man the benefit of the doubt, Naruto succeeded in stealing the Scroll of Sealing and quickly memorized the Kage Bunshin technique as well as some of the other jutsus listed in the Forbidden Scroll. Knowing that an "idiot" would have a hard enough time learning one, he decided on the Kage Bunshin as the one to show the world, while committing the others to memory for practicing on his own._

_It was at this point that he was betrayed by Mizuki. Iruka showed up, proving his integrity when he tried to protect Naruto, but he ultimately failed. Naruto knew the pitiful academy jutsus were useless against Mizuki, and he was unwilling to use his privately learned techniques unless he had to. That left his new Kage Bunshin. He quickly overwhelmed the chuunin with sheer weight of numbers, and he realized something interesting about the new technique – he remembered every blow he had hit Mizuki with. This could prove invaluable in training. He had to test the limits of this later…_

_Fast Forward_

_His time on team seven was a joke. They did pathetic D-rank missions, little things that he could finish in minutes with his Kage Bunshin. That would annoy Kakashi-sensei, though, as it would be "showing off," something only the 'mighty Uchiha' was permitted to do. Even more to his distaste than being placed with the stuck-up Uchiha avenger was 'dear Sakura-chan.' Early in his idiot period, he had established a 'crush' on her to complete his persona. Now, she was hopelessly obsessed with the Uchiha asshole, and immensely enjoyed hitting him, insulting him, and generally making his life miserable, all because she knew he would never fight back. And finally Kakashi. He was nice enough, but all the man ever taught him was the tree-walking exercise; while a useful chakra control training tool and a potentially useful combat advantage, it was nothing compared to the massive arsenal of jutsus the man could have imparted – and did impart, to the Uchiha anyway._

_Over time, it mellowed out. While Sakura continued to be a bitch, Sasuke became a bit less moody, a bit more open and friendly (relatively speaking). It was a better existence than running for his life, and for that, he was grateful._

_Until Sasuke decided he was bored with the village that worshiped the very ground he walked on, and took off to find Orochimaru. Naruto, unwilling to let even this semi-friendly acquaintance be used to house the soul of such a horrible man, was one of the first to volunteer to retrieve Sasuke, even though he knew an ANBU team would be the ones to bring Sasuke back. For some reason, though, a group of genin, led by a chuunin Shikimaru, was sent against the jounin Sound Four and Kimimaro. Sakura, despite her loud professions of love for the avenger, decided to stay in Konoha due to the ever-so-serious (insert sarcasm here) neck injury given to her by the self-same avenger._

_They fought their way through, somehow, and Naruto ended up in a one-on-one duel with Sasuke in an effort to make him see reason. Unwilling to kill Sasuke, he eventually threw the duel, merely scoring the Uchiha's hitai-ate instead of aiming for a fatal blow._

_He watched as his teammate wandered off into oblivion, and eventually staggered back home, bleeding from multiple wounds. Without Kyuubi's healing factor, he never would have survived._

_He made it back home – and was set upon by a mob, the leaders of which having cleverly decided that it was Naruto's fault their precious Uchiha had left. They managed to catch and beat him before he escaped, as he was still unwilling to harm civilians. His older wounds re-opened and newer ones still bleeding, he happened across his other teammate's house. Hoping that she would, at the very least, provide him with shelter from his assailants, he knocked._

_Flashback End_

"And the rest, as they say, is history. That answer a few questions, Tsunade?"

She was happy to hear him refer to her a little more familiarly. "Yes, it does. And I am going to personally execute your old teachers – Iruka excepted, of course – as well as the masterminds behind each mob, and –"

"Look, Tsunade, it's not important anymore. I won't have to deal with them again."

She blinked. Then blinked again, slower this time. "Naruto…I don't really think they've changed their opinions. When you move back here –"

"Tsunade…I'm not staying here."

"Of course you are, don't be silly. Konoha is your home."

His eyes flashed. "_Sunagakure_ is home. Konoha may have been where I lived, but I _never_ had a home here."

"But – Naruto, please, you're being unreasonable."

"Excuse me? You now know a fraction of what I went through. It would take years to sum up every hateful stare, every rock thrown, every sadistic trick played on me, and everything else I was subjected to here. I live in Suna. I'm appreciated in Suna. You know what? I'm loved in Suna! I'm a local hero! The biggest threats I faced in Suna were getting raped by crazed fangirls and Jiraiya kicking my ass when I slack off after–"

He realized exactly what he'd given away. Tsunade sat back with a satisfied smirk. "So that's where the old perv was hiding. I figured he was with you after you mentioned your family name; he's one of the few who knew Minato was your father."

"Hey! He may be an old perv, but that's my godfather you're badmouthing, and he took seven years of his life and devoted them to me. Give the man some measure of respect; he deserves that much."

"…Yeah, I suppose he does. Is he still alive?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course he's still alive! The old guy should be here in a few days, actually…he had a few errands to run first."

Tsunade smiled, a genuine smile. "It'll be good to see him again. Life hasn't been the same without that hellraiser around."

Naruto laughed at this. "He's a good guy, really…just a little crazy in some ways."

Tsunade nodded. "Quick question…what was this about you having fangirls all of a sudden?"

Naruto grimaced. "Dammit. Never should have mentioned that…"

"But you did mention that. Spill."

"Well…I'm rather…popular. Especially with the Suna kunoichi and civilian women."

"You'd better not be turning into a perv like your godfather…" Tsunade let the threat remain unspoken.

Naruto snorted at this. "You really have no idea what you're talking about. A pervert would be in heaven. I'm practically beating them off with a stick."

Tsunade quickly scanned him, then winked. "Yep, you are one fine piece of shinobi."

He recoiled. "Dear god, baa-chan, _never_ say that to me again!"

She just laughed.

"I'm serious! I'm 19, and you're, like, really old!"

Her laughter died, to be replaced by a menacing expression. "I'm _what_?"

His tanned face went pale. "Umm…yeah, so, my squad's probably wondering where the hell I am…see you around, baa-chan."

He leaped out the window, evading her fist by less than an inch.

"Namikaze Naruto, get your ass back here!"

"Not a chance! You already used your one command on me! Later, _old woman_!"

"**Naruto!**"

* * *

Hinata was walking back to her clan compound when she heard it.

"**Naruto!**"

The voice came from Hokage Tower, and sounded an awful lot like an angry Tsunade. She remembered how close the two blondes were before Naruto…left…and the Hokage would probably be one of the first people he would try to see. Maybe…just maybe…he's back.

Completely forgetting her current task, she took off towards the Tower with a speed that would impress Maito Gai.

* * *

Sakura turned around to find the team from Suna standing at the door to the ANBU barracks. "Umm…can I help you guys?"

Temari answered her. "Yeah, actually…there should be two rooms prepped for us. If you can direct us to those?"

"Yeah, sure. Two rooms, each with two sleeping cots. Bathrooms are communal, I'm afraid, but there's a good number of them for the number of ninja currently staying here. Kitchen and mess hall are down the east hallway."

The group arrived at the reserved rooms, but instead of the two males going in one while the two females took the other, Temari walked into the west room with Ookami – _her Ookami-kun!_ – while the other two, who she had seen rather close together already, took the east room.

Trying to hide her disappointment, Sakura followed Temari and Ookami into the west room.

"Umm…is it the best idea to put them together? People will be trying to sleep, so…" Sakura trailed off. _Oh no. What if Ookami-kun and Temari…no!_

Ookami and Temari looked at each other, then burst out laughing. _Kami, even his laugh is sexy. __**Why does Temari get this drop dead gorgeous guy? **_

Temari answered her. "Yeah…about that…Nariko and Hiro are twins. I don't see that being a problem. And to answer your unspoken question, me and the big guy here" – she patted Ookami on the stomach – "are practically siblings as well. We – meaning my brothers and I – kind of adopted him. So don't worry yourself."

Inner Sakura was doing a victory dance. _**He's not taken!**__ We think, anyway…_

"So…umm, _big guy_…" she laughed, "mind telling me what your name is?"

"Actually, I do mind. Sorry."

_Ouch. __**What's his problem?**_

"Hey, who's the new guy?"

Sakura turned to find Shikimaru and his squad peering in the doorway. Lee, Tenten and Shino waited expectantly…well, that is, Tenten and Shino waited, while Lee twitched. Supposedly Shikimaru made him go a day without training every time he uttered something about "youthfulness" or anything affiliated; for Lee, this was probably the worst punishment possible.

"Sakura? Wanna fill us in?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah. We're hosting a Suna ANBU team for a little while; they're going to be doing something with the academy. Guys, you all remember Temari, and this is…Ookami, who hasn't yet graced us with his name yet." This comment was delivered with a bit of a glare. The effect was largely spoiled by her blush, and although he never moved, Sakura got the distinct impression that Ookami was laughing.

"It's not Ookami."

_**Hey, do we finally get to put a name to this…this god among men?**_

"Please call me Kuroi. Members of Team Oni use colours as their callsigns."

_**Damn…**__ Tell me about it._

Lee piped up enthusiastically. "Kuroi-san! It is very…it is…it can be..gah! We would appreciate knowing your name, Kuroi-san!"

_Wow. Shikimaru really did beat "youthfulness" out of him…mostly._

"I don't think that's a good idea. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"But, Kuroi-san…"

Lee stopped as Kuroi stretched, reaching his arms for the ceiling. At the same time, his chakra, tightly suppressed before, spilled out of him. It reminded Sakura vaguely of killing intent, but there was no malice in this. He was simply stretching his tenketsu as well as his muscles. _**Holy shit, he's strong…**__ I don't have a tenth of that, and this is just him stretching? I knew he was tough, but…this is unreal! Wow…_

"Please. I'm tired from a long trip, and would like to rest. If you would excuse me…"

Reluctantly the five Konoha ninja left the room. Before Kuroi could shut the door, someone new came rushing in and kicked it all the way open.

"Is it true?!"

Sakura looked with astonishment at Hinata, for indeed it was her, slightly out of breath, staring at Kuroi with blistering intensity.

"Is what true?" came Kuroi's reply.

Instead of answering him, Hinata grabbed his mask and pulled it off his head.

Uzumaki Naruto stared back at his old friends. "Uh…hey. Long time no see?"

* * *

Hinata stared at Naruto. Some small part of her brain registered the exclamations of her friends, a dumbstruck Sakura, and a worried Temari. She ignored all of it, and simply focused on his face. Naruto was back. Naruto was here. And she had absolutely no idea what to say to him.

The small part of her brain that was still conscious of everything not Naruto picked up Shikimaru's comment. "So, Uzumaki Naruto finally returns to Konoha. What took so long? You get lost?"

Naruto gave a small smile. "Actually, it's Namikaze Naruto now."

Time seemed to stop for Hinata. _Why did his name change? Why? Oh Kami…he married into a clan! He's _married_!_

Everyone stared as Hinata made hurried excuses as to why she had to leave, none of which made much sense. She backed away, still making excuses, then turned and ran.

"Namikaze?"

"Why the name switch?"

"Why does that sound familiar?"

It was Shikimaru who figured it out. "Naruto…you're related to the Fourth, aren't you?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. Turns out he was my father. Small world, huh?"

* * *

Yeah, I'm an asshole. I brought poor Hinata's hopes up only to crush them again. Please forgive me! Besides, she isn't really crushed, she just misunderstood a bit of the conversation!

And I gave you a longer chapter than normal. An extra two thousand words!

No poll this time.

One final point: to my fellow Sakura bash-ists, it will seem that I was uncommonly nice to her this chapter. That's because I was! Don't worry though, for it is all a part of my grand master plan. Fear not!

* * *

**(1)**Another bit of my fic that was inspired by Bleach; the mask is basically Ichigo's hollow mask, without the teeth. It looks badass.

**(2)**Ookami: Wolf

**(3)**Tora: Tiger (also the name of the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat…lol)

* * *

Alrighty. Remember that the number of reviews I obtain is inversely proportional to the wait time between updates, and directly proportional to the length of said updates, decreasing the period and increasing the amplitude of the linear wave function that is my writing.

And to think I only passed math by a meagre four percent...figures. I spend twice as long on calculus as I do on all my other courses combined, and I get a D in calc and nothing lower than a B+ everything else, with my highest mark being a 93 percent A+ in Inorganic Chemistry. Damned math prof can rot in hell.

Oo

Well now, with that little bit of happiness out of the way, please review! I beg you! And if you understood my random math jargon you will understand that you get a quicker, longer, better update if I get lots of reviews! And everyone wants that, right?


	7. Reunions And Memories

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: IT'S MINE! NARUTO INC. IS ALL MINE! YES!! (welltossedsalad is then placed in a straightjacket and dragged away by the nice men in clean white coats…) Seriously though, I own nothing except for the plot. And even most of the credit for that still goes to Kishimoto.

A/N: To anyone who thinks Naruto and/or Hinata are overpowered…it's been seven years since Naruto left Konoha. They have both trained almost non-stop since then under excellent teachers, and Naruto has made liberal use of the Kage Bunshin training technique. Both of them are jounin, Naruto is currently an Suna ANBU captain (we'll talk more about that later…) and Hinata spent a year in the Konoha ANBU. Also, neither of them have been shown in a serious fight against powerful opponents; Hinata has assassinated Danzo and beaten Anko in a spar, while Naruto has sparred with Gaara (I only wrote the tail end of the spar; they'd been fighting for over an hour) and killed four B-rank Iwa jounin, all of whom were distracted. So while they are both very much kickass, there are far more powerful enemies out there.

* * *

A/N: Major props to my betareader, JH24. If you're interested in the "Danny Phantom" fandom, check out his work.

* * *

**SPOILER ALERT!!**

Kishimoto's done it again…Sasuke has unlocked another level of the Sharingan. The bastard never even had to work at it; it seems listening to Madara's history lesson was enough to superpower him again. My only hope is that now, with 'Eagle' having Konoha's destruction for a goal, the Uchiha will get his ass handed to him by one orange-clad hero.

And HOORAY! It looks like that might just be the direction Kishimoto is going, what with Naruto 'recieving some of Itachi's power' and being told to stop Sasuke at all costs if he comes after Konoha. Duck-haired-bitch is gonna die!

For the record, I don't hate Sasuke implicitly. Any fanfic that portrays him as...I don't know, NOT an annoying self-rightous overpowered traitorous prick...is fine in my book. Canon Sasuke should be either killed or brainwashed. Preferably sooner rather than later.

**RASENGAN** TO THE FACE!!

**END SPOILER ALERT!!

* * *

**

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

_**Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality**_

"**Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Reunions and Memories**

* * *

Naruto stared after Hinata as she ran off, still babbling something about picking up Hanabi from daycare. _I thought her sister was only a few years younger…the kid has to be at least fifteen by now. Daycare? _He snapped out of it in time to hear Shikimaru's query.

"Naruto…you're related to the Fourth, aren't you?"

_It's surprising no one figured it out a while ago…I mean, I looked almost exactly like the guy as a genin. _Rather than give voice to this, he merely nodded. "Yeah. Turns out he was my father. Small world, huh?"

He was immediately bombarded with even more questions than before. Slightly raising his hands in front of him, the young ninja made a step forward. "Ok, everyone just shush. I'll answer everything you want to know, but not right now." At this moment Naruto just wanted everyone to go away, but he didn't want to put it so bluntly. _I need an excuse, maybe..._ The blonde put on a fatigued expression."Listen. I've been running for three days, and I just had to kill four enemy combatants. I'm _tired_."

This didn't go over very well with his old friends, but they grudgingly acquiesced after noticing Naruto's weary expression. Each departed after giving him one last lingering look, each with a different emotion.

Naruto observed them one by one as they slowly walked out of the door._ Shikimaru…apathy, and a touch of worry. Shino…he never shows emotion, but he smells a little surprised. Tenten…surprise, happiness, and a bit of confusion. Lee…is going to be asking for a spar sometime in the near future, and will loudly proclaim something about how brightly the 'flames of my youth' are burning._

Sakura was the last to depart, and stopped to gaze at him out of the corner of her eye. Naruto inclined his head, a hint of disbelief growing in his eyes. _Dear Kami...is she actually drooling?_ When she saw him notice her, she blushed and hurriedly went through the door.

Once all were gone and the door was shut, Temari turned to him, looking worried. "Are you ok with this? And did the Hokage find out?"

Naruto gave her a small smile. He figured it did a fairly good job of hiding his apprehension. "Well…I was going to let those six and a few others know who I was anyway. I certainly didn't intend to reveal myself _that_ way, but…oh well. You can't have everything in life. He briefly stared at the floor before continuing. "As far as Tsunade is concerned; it turns out I was wrong about her. She honestly fought for me, and is still doing what she can, but the council has her deadlocked for the most part. It's probably the work of that Danzo guy." He sighed. "At least I'm out of the bingo book. That was a mercy I didn't expect."

Temari nodded. "Glad to hear it. Of course, now all of them are going to start spreading the stories of your return…"

Naruto shook his head. "I doubt it. The old edition of the bingo book had been in circulation for years. You know how it had me listed as a jinchuuriki; they'll want that explained before they start letting anyone else know." He slumped slightly. "Besides, they're smart enough not to reveal that Konoha's _prodigal son_ is back. They'll tell a few people; Sakura will tell Ino, who will tell the rest of the Rookie Nine, Tenten will probably mention something to Neji, Lee certainly doesn't have any secrets from Gai… but for the most part, it should stay pretty quiet."

She looked into his eyes, worry for him still evident. "I guess…I just want to get the mission over with and go back home. I don't like spending time here, knowing what even the civilians are capable of."

Naruto laughed grimly at this. "They'll leave me in peace, if they know what's good for them."

With that rather morbid comment still hanging in the air, he flopped down on his mattress.

Temari smirked. "Don't tell me that the god of stamina is actually tired?"

Naruto chuckled in response, briefly closing his eyes in amusement. "Not particularly. It was more an excuse to get them out of the room so I could compose myself." His smile vanished. He paused for a moment, staring at the ceiling while frowning thoughtfully. "But I _have _been running a lot, and I did decide to involve us in that skirmish with the Iwa-nin. A little sleep wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Even if it's only four in the afternoon…"

"Ah, shut up and let me enjoy my nap," he replied jokingly, looking in her direction again.

Temari rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't surpress a little smirk. "Yes boss."

He gave her a roguish wink. "And don't you forget it!"

* * *

To outsiders, the massive Hyuuga compound was a testament to Konoha's greatness. Beautifully constructed buildings, surrounded by a near-impregnable wall and guarded by precision-trained branch members.

When one looked a little ways underneath the underneath, the flaws became all too apparent. Main house members enjoyed their aristocratic lifestyle by using their Branch cousins as mere slaves, while those 'lesser Hyuugas' glared balefully at their backs and plotted minor schemes for petty revenge. The schism between the two was wide, and only a very few were able to get past it.

If one looked still further, a clan in regression could be seen. The Jyuken had become a shadow of its former glory. The entire Hyuuga combat was far too specialized, creating glaring weaknesses that would no doubt be exploited by enemies in the future. The clan head had fallen ill, and spent most of his time confined to his chambers, leaving the clan under the provisional rule of its disfunctional elder council, the members of which being more content to fight amongst themselves than provide any sort of leadership to either Main or Branch.

If one looked deep into the heart of the compound, they would see a young woman sobbing in her room.

Hinata didn't know what to do.

She hadn't merely waited faithfully for him. Naruto had mentioned that he liked strong girls, so she had worked herself to the bone training in an effort to have him notice her when he got back. He had commented that he liked long hair; she had grown hers out, leaving it to fall almost to her waist in its silky indigo glory. He thought her stutter was weird, so she had spent a good portion of her 'non-training' time interacting with as many different people as possible in an effort to get over her shyness. He had vanished, almost without a trace; so she had begun to set up her very own rudimentary spy network in the areas surrounding Konoha in an effort to start looking for him in earnest. The list went on.

When she thought about it, she couldn't think of anything else she could have done that would have improved her chances. And it still wasn't enough.

Maybe Neji was right, all those years ago. Maybe human lives were predestined, according to the fates. Maybe she and Naruto were just…never meant to be together.

It was too much. She couldn't bear it anymore. Tears of silent anguish began their steady journey down her cheeks.

All she could do was hope that the lucky girl who had won Naruto's heart, whoever she might be, at least made him happy.

* * *

Naruto woke a little after ten, around six hours after he started his nap. The sun had set, but there was still enough light for him to see by.

He noticed Temari was still sleeping. She had curled up into a fetal position, and was snoring softly. Rather than wake her, he instead left her a note saying that he was going out to re-examine his old stomping grounds, and that he would be back no later than midnight.

After putting his shirt back on, slipping into his steel-reinforced getas and buckling his weapons back into their respective places, he headed toward the door, absently attaching his mask as he did. It bothered him, sometimes, always hiding behind a mask, but the pros outweighed the cons.

He opened the door and walked soundlessly out into the cool night air.

For a moment, he just stood there, gazing at his former home. There had been no time for such an evaluation earlier; he had been preoccupied with his duties before meeting with Tsunade, and distracted afterwards. Now, though…it struck him just how alien Konohagakure no Sato felt. Sure, all the buildings were in the same place – he knew the area like the back of his hand, even after all this time. Each glance brought back memories. _I spray-painted that shop orange, revenge for them throwing me out of the store…I used that alleyway several times; it branches several times, and I lost my pursuers that way…as part of Team Seven, I mowed that old lady's lawn; Sasuke pawned the work off on me, and Sakura followed him like usual…_

He smiled sadly behind his mask. None of the memories were pleasant.

As Naruto walked through Konoha, it was more of the same. Memories of his old life as Konoha's number one unpredictable knuckle-head ninja flooded back. Looking back on it all, Naruto wondered how he had stayed sane. Every day, he was scorned, humiliated, and treated like garbage.

After rounding a familiar corner, his eyes lit up slightly. He knew this house.

* * *

Iruka was putting away the last of his newly washed dishes when he heard a knock on the front door. After stowing away the final plate, and idly cursing whoever might be disturbing him this late, he opened the door to find a masked ninja he didn't recognize, wearing a non-standard ANBU mask. The man was wearing a Suna hitai-ate around his neck, and had a decent array of weaponry secured about his person.

_Hmm…that's odd. I can't think of any reason an ANBU should be on my front doorstep this late, let alone one from Sunagakure._ "Can I help you, ANBU-san?"

The masked man chuckled. "Don't you remember me, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka frowned. The voice was vaguely familiar, but he had taught many students over the years. He didn't know of any that had transferred to a different village, though… _wait… not transferred, no, but he _did_ disappear… is it…?_

He didn't have to wait for an answer. The Suna-nin reached up and removed his mask to reveal a face that Iruka remembered very well. Age had changed it – the whisker marks were gone, and the brilliant blue eyes now harbored slit pupils instead of circles – but he knew exactly who this young man was.

Iruka's mouth fell open in disbelief. "…Naruto?"

The blonde smirked at him. "How've ya been?"

Naruto enjoyed the look of astonishment his old teacher gave him as he removed his mask, but was surprised when the academy teacher lunged forward to grab him in a hug. Naruto noticed how much taller he had become than the chuunin, and laughed inwardly before returning the gesture.

The scarred man let go and backed up slightly to look over his old student, his astonished expression replaced by a little grin. "Kami, what happened to you? Where's the little brat I used to chastise for defacing village monuments?"

The young ninja smiled weakly in return, while rubbing the back of his neck. "Heh…long story, that one."

Iruka nodded understandingly. "I have time. For old time's sake, how about I take you for ramen so we can catch up?"

Naruto laughed softly. "Ah, memories…tell you what. I'll treat you, this time…it'll make up a little for the damage I did to your wallet back in the day."

Iruka smiled at his former student. "Well, if you really want to…give me a second to grab my sandals."

Naruto nodded, and went to reattach his mask. Iruka caught his arm, though, and gave him a little smile. "If you're not on duty, leave it off."

The blonde gently pulled himself out of the chuunin's grasp, and put the mask on anyway. "I don't think that's the best idea. Don't worry; I'll take it off to eat."

* * *

Hinata stood up. This upset, morose persona…that was exactly what she had been trying to get rid of all these years. Now. She was going to leave the Hyuuga compound, and she was going to go get a snack to make herself feel a bit better. _Hmm…Ichiraku's might still be open…_

Ichiraku Teuchi was contemplating closing up the stand for the night when two ninja walked in, chatting about something. He recognized one of them. Umino Iruka was something of a regular at the little ramen stand, which had become quite popular with a select group of ninja. They were the main reason he was still open; business wasn't great, and he refused to mark up the prices any more than he already had. But his repeat customers kept him and Ayame afloat, and for that, he was thankful.

A single picture hung on the wall, depicting a young boy with a massive grin, surrounded by ramen bowls piled high around him. It was the memory of this boy that kept that select group coming back; each member usually came alone, and would quietly order and eat a bowl or two before leaving. Occasionally some of them would come together, and the mood would be much more jovial. Rare was it, however, to see a new customer – he had a reputation as 'that guy who liked the demon brat' after all.

So it was with a touch of surprise that Teuchi watched Iruka enter with a stranger. He knew most of Iruka's friends, by sight if not by name, and this fellow certainly wasn't one of them. Even more strange was the Suna hitai-ate the stranger wore around his neck; Iruka almost never left the village due to his position as a teacher – where would he have met a Suna-nin? An ANBU, judging by the man's mask, which meant the stranger was strong, most likely jounin-level.

His thoughts were interrupted when the stranger sat down and placed his order.

"I'll get two large miso, a large pork, and a large beef for starters. And Iruka-sensei will have a…?"

"Medium chicken. Thank you, Ichiraku-san."

As Teuchi went off to prepare the ramen, his mind went into overdrive. The Suna-nin had referred to Iruka as sensei…since when was Iruka teaching Suna shinobi? Furthermore, who ordered four large bowls of ramen as a starter? It really puzzled him...

The ramen didn't take long, and he passed the bowls to Ayame to carry out. He sat down in the back of the kitchen, his mind still filled with thoughts about this new stranger, only to hear Ayame's agitated voice. "Otou-san, come here!"

* * *

Ichiraku Ayame was almost at the end of a decidedly boring day that finished up a decidedly boring week. She was all set to go home, shower, and sleep, but no! Iruka and his new buddy had to arrive.

She actually quite liked Iruka; he was a nice, approachable guy, always with a smile and a kind word. But right now, he was between her and a soft bed, and that was enough cause for her)annoyance.

She slid the bowls in front of their respective owners and then stood there, arms crossed, glaring at the two as if to force them to eat faster with her own sheer willpower. It was at that point that the masked Suna-nin spoke.

"What's the deal, Ayame-san? Your cute face is marred by that grumpy expression."

___Ayame frowned irritably in return.__ Oh, great. Now the guy is hitting on me…just what I wanted. _Before she could let fly with a tongue-lashing at the Suna shinobi, he removed his mask and smiled at her, driving all thoughts of anger from her mind. _Is it…Kami, it is…where the hell has he been? _Suddenly, the girl felt herself blush._ And when did he become so…hot?_

She spun around to yell at her father. "Otou-san, come here!"

* * *

After turning back to the sexy young…er, Naruto, she began to bombard him with questions, mostly revolving around "Where have you been?" and "When did you get back?" Her other, unvoiced query, 'Are you still single?' she thought better not to mention…yet.

Naruto held up a hand to stop the tidal wave of questions. "Slow down there Ayame-san. One question at a time."

She wondered briefly about the honorary suffix change; it had always been –neechan before. "Um…so, where have you been all this time?"

He rolled his eyes and pointed at his hitai-ate. _Oh right. Duh. Stupid question…_

She laughed nervously. _Great; I bet he thinks I'm an idiot._ "…did you just get back to Konoha?"

"Yeah, I arrived about eight hours ago. It's been pretty eventful, too…"

"Oh really? What happened?"

Naruto winked. "Most of it's classified. Sorry."

_Damn..._ "Oh well. So, Suna…what's it like? I've never been to the desert."

"I was wondering that myself, actually…" Iruka added.

Ayame jumped; Iruka had startled her. She had completely forgotten about the chuunin's presence.

Naruto laughed at the embarrassed girl's response, then continued to answer her question as well as he could. "In a word? Hot. Suna is hot. It's a pretty nice place to live, though…the wind keeps the buildings cool, the people are friendly, they have a great ninja program, and one of my best friends is the Kazekage." His voice, light and almost carefree before, turned dark and melancholy, a deep frown quickly growing on his expression. "There's one big problem with Sunagakure, though…"

_Uh oh. Why does nothing ever go right in this poor boy's life? _**Heh…maybe we could make him feel better……**_Bad! Bad, perverted inner self! _"What's that? It sounds pretty serious…"

"Oh, it is. You see…their ramen sucks!"

Ayame sweat-dropped. _THAT was the problem?! _"And here I was worried about you! Naruto, you haven't changed at all! Why, I should…"

* * *

Hinata was almost at Ichiraku's when she heard Ayame's familiar voice. "So how is life? Are you seeing anyone right now?"

In spite of herself, Hinata's ears perked up. Ayame was second only to Ino in obtaining interesting gossip. She waited for a reply.

"Nope, I'm enjoying the bachelor life right now. Why, you interested or something?" the person replied jokingly.

Hinata wasn't really listening to the ramen girl's stuttered response. Instead, she was trying to decide if the voice she had just heard really belonged to the man she thought it did.

"**Byakugan**!"

With her Kekkei Genkai active, she was easily able to see through the wooden walls of the ramen stand, and sure enough, Naruto was sitting on a stool, chatting with Ayame and Iruka-sensei.

Hunger was forgotten. It took a fair amount of restraint for her to refrain from thanking Kami as loud as she could.

She turned on her heel and began to walk serenely back to the Hyuuga compound, emotions held tightly in check.

Hinata entered her room, slammed the door and flopped down on her bed. She let out a contented sigh before falling asleep in her clothes; for the moment, completely content.

* * *

"So, you're going to be at the academy, huh? Guess I'll be seeing you a lot in the days to come."

Naruto smirked at his old sensei behind his mask. "Think you're up for it?"

Iruka just laughed. The two parted ways; Iruka back to his own home and Naruto back to the barracks.

It had been nice, reconnecting with his old friends. Talk at the ramen stand had been full of "oh, look how different this is now," or "wow, that hasn't changed a bit, has it?" For the most part, though, Konoha was the same as it had ever been. The same people did the same jobs, ran the same errands, spent time with the same people, held the same prejudices…

Naruto shook his head. That last thought might not be entirely fair; he had spent seven years thinking Tsunade had tried to kill him, and that couldn't be further from the truth. While it was…unlikely…that the villagers had changed their perceptions of him, he was willing to give them a chance to prove him wrong.

That would come tomorrow, though...it was almost midnight, and he had promised Temari in his note that he would be back by then. Even if she was still sleeping and hadn't found his note, he knew he should get some rest himself.

Temari was reading when the door opened and Naruto stepped inside. The blonde shinobi undid his mask and set it beside his bed.

"So where'd you go?"

He gestured vaguely. "Around."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Wow, real informative."

"I went past Iruka-sensei's place, and we chatted briefly before we went for a ramen meal. It was great catching up with Ayame-san and Teuchi-san as well. After that, I walked back here."

"A ryo for your thoughts."

He hesitated. If she hadn't been watching for it, she would have missed the slight tightening of his face as he schooled his expressions. "I…don't know, really. Physically, Konohagakure no Sato is the same as always. My real interest is in whether or not the attitude of the inhabitants has improved; only time will tell, I suppose."

He turned away and took off his mask, before turning down his bedroll.

"Naruto…I know you pretty well. You're not telling me something."

Naruto laughed, but it sounded forced. "It's not an actual observation, really, more of a comparison." He sat down, looking at Temari solemnly before continuing. "When I lived here, I did just about everything I could think of to get some kind of respect, or at least acknowledgement, and after I spent twelve years here, all I had to show for it were a handful of people who tolerated my existence. Of that handful, only seven actually liked me, and of that seven, only a couple would stand up for me on a regular basis. And then I look back at home, where again, no one trusted me at the start. But when I did something worthwhile, it actually _meant_ something to them, and I was able to earn acceptance and respect. So why?"

Temari sighed softly as she could see the sad look in Naruto's eyes. The young ninja shifted uncomfortably on the edge of his bed. _How could those people have treated him in such a brutal way? How could they have done this to such a kind, good-natured guy?_ She felt anger rising within her, it happened everytime when she thought about how much her teammate must have suffered all those years. Before she could say something, Naruto continued talking, his sad gaze had disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of frustration.

"So why?" The blonde repeated, his voice sounding harsher this time. "Two different villages, Konoha and Suna. They have the same basic purpose, and are home to the same kinds of people: ninja, and those who provide services to keep the ninja village running. So why is one…normal, if you will…and the other so intolerant? Yes, Kyuubi killed Otou-san, indirectly at least. But think about it! The Elder Council and higher ranked ninja knew that Akasun no Sasori killed the beloved Sandaime Kazekage, a man held in as high esteem as the Yondaime Hokage. Sasori had a massive price on his head, but the villagers never took out their anger on things that were only related to the man. His family, his possessions – they knew that those things weren't the Kage-slayer himself, and so they were left alone. Chiyo was on the council, despite the fact that she trained him; Kankuro used Sasori's puppets, until he started making his own…"

His semi-angry tone became softer and slightly melancholy. "So why is Konoha so different? The entire time I lived here, I was a shield, a massive barrier keeping the world safe from the fox. I protected the _entire world_ from the thing's destructive power. Any idiot should be able to figure out that if I really had been the fox, I would have simply killed them for daring to attack me. So that's my question: why? Why were they so short-sighted?"

Her heart went out to him. "I honestly don't know, Naruto…I wish I did, for your sake. Who knows; maybe Hi no Kuni spawns an abnormally large proportion of idiots?"

He laughed softly at that. "Heh…yeah, who knows. Maybe they'll have figured it out, and will finally forgive me for being born."

That last line sort of killed the conversation. Temari stood and walked to the bathroom to get changed. By the time she returned, Naruto was already in his blankets. She killed the lights and then followed his example.

The last thing Temari heard before falling asleep was Naruto, talking quietly to himself. "All those years…I spent sixteen years holding the fox at bay…and I was hated for my sacrifice. Jinchuuriki, indeed."

* * *

The alarm went off at six, just as the sun was rising. The two got up and headed off to the showers. It still being early, the male shower room was empty; Naruto wondered if Temari was as lucky. He took a few extra minutes to enjoy the feeling of hot water cascading over his skin, then reluctantly turned the taps off, dried himself, and got dressed, making sure that his mask was in place before he left. On the way back to his room he passed a very sleepy Fujitaka Hiro, who gave him a lazy salute.

"Ohayo – (yawn) – taichou…"

"Ohayo. I want you at the main barracks entrance, ready to go, in ten minutes."

"Hai, taichou…wait what? Ten minutes?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes, Hiro, you have TEN MINUTES to be ready to go. Don't keep the rest of us waiting."

"B-but tai-chou…"

Naruto gave his subordinate a stern look. "No buts."

Exactly nine minutes and thirty-four seconds later, Suna Team Oni headed out for the first day of their latest mission.

"I still don't see why we're studying a bunch of brats being taught at some academy."

"Ah, for the love of – how many times have we been over this, Hiro? Suna is graduating fewer and fewer ninja; we are here to get ideas from the Konoha academy. You won't have to get up this early every day; it only takes one of us to sit through the classes. I only want the three of you here on the first day so you can see how it's done."

At a growl from one of the females – he wasn't sure exactly who – Naruto clarified. "I'm not worried about Temari or Nariko, but YOU Hiro…I know you, and you would take great pleasure in showing up the students."

At this, all three of members of his squad looked confused. Nariko voiced their thoughts. "Umm…what do you mean by that, taichou?"

"Let me put it this way. If you were an academy student, and one day four foreign ANBU wandered into your classroom, what would you think?"

"Well…I'd be nervous as hell."

"Exactly. We don't need to worry about the chuunin instructors; Hokage-dono has briefed them, and they know to expect four new 'ninja-in-training', all of whom will be hiding under a Henge. The idea is to simply observe a normal classroom setting."

Hiro hesitantly answered. "Well…if you say so, taichou, then that's what we'll do, but…I gotta say, so far this mission sucks. I had to get up ridiculously early, and I don't even get to fight anyone…"

Naruto sighed, but decided not to make a problem regarding Hiro's attitude. "Oh well. Be a big boy and deal with it."

They arrived at the academy without further issues, and the four Henged into twelve-year-old students. Hiro was a chubby boy, looking vaguely like an Akimichi; Temari looked like a younger version of herself, without the signature hairstyle; Nariko had changed from a flame-haired beauty to a short girl with big grey eyes, and Naruto himself was a skinny little blonde boy with blue eyes. He had opted not to wear orange; however ironic it might have been, someone might suspect something.

Naruto took a seat in the middle of the classroom. He leaned forward on the desk and closed his eyes, pretending to be a bored, tired student just waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Suddenly an angry voice sounded from his left. "You, get out of my seat. Now." Naruto sighed irritably. _Oh, great. Looks like the academy has yet another arrogant prodigy. I wonder who took the brat's chair…_

He felt something strike him on the head; not with nearly enough force to dispel his Henge, but annoying nonetheless. "Hey dobe! Get your worthless self out of Genji-kun's seat!"

Naruto just _knew_ his teammates were laughing their asses off at him; a glance around the classroom showed him three very controlled faces. Only Hiro's showed the slightest expression, but it was very obvious to him that all three were struggling not to burst out in uncontrolled laughter. Naruto made a mental note to put all three through his patented 'Training from Hell' as soon as possible.

He then looked up at the boy who made the demand. Pale empty eyes stared back at him from a face framed by long black hair. _Great…another Neji. I wonder who gets to remove the stick from this one's ass?_

Naruto knew that for the sake of the mission, any kind of trouble had to be avoided._ I should just apologize and get this over with._ He stood up. "Sorry, Genji-san. My mistake."

The brunette fangirl who hit him before proceeded to do so again. "Don't talk with so little respect to Genji-kun! You can address him as 'Genji-sama'."

The blonde groaned inwardly, feeling more annoyed with each second_. Ok…what would a student do…a student would lash out. Bad idea._ Rather than answering the child, he simply moved four spaces down the row and sat back down again, only to be hit by the fangirl again, who seemed angry at the fact that he didn't so much as twitch when she struck him. "I was talking to you! Answer me!"

_What's up with this kid?_ He was determined to settle this peacefully, but his patience was really being pushed to the limit here. Standing up, he gave an introductory bow. "Apologies. I just transferred to this class today; I don't know your name."

"Harano Sayuri, that's Sayuri-_sama_ to you." _Harano…great. A relative of my old teammate's, without the trademark pink hair. _"I'm cousin to the great Harano Sakura herself, so show some respect when you talk to me!"

Naruto sat down again, averted his gaze from the girl, closed his eyes and went through a list of Doton jutsu he knew, starting from the weakest and working up. It was a good exercise when he was angry; it gave him time to collect his thoughts. The idea of using Sakura's name as a badge of _pride_…he should toss the insolent little whelp out a window. A quick glance at his teammates showed they were no longer laughing.

"Of course, Sayuri-sama. My mistake. I was unaware of your relation to the…great…Sakura-san." He had to force those last words out of his mouth. But anything would be better than to create a scene, not to mention the bad example he would be for to his teammates.

The brat giggled. "Well, so long as you know. I'm going to be that amazing one day…I'm gonna be apprenticed to the Hokage; I'll be dating an ANBU captain…" the child sighed contemplatively. "Although hers is foreign..."

Naruto's head shot up at that, his eyes widened in shock. Sakura was telling people that she was _dating_ him? The sheer _nerve_ of the bitch…the two of them would be having words. Meaning he would be talking, and Sakura would be nodding with a look of fear on her face.

The blonde looked at younger Harano; she really had managed to get his attention. "That is very interesting…where is this foreign shinobi from, that Sakura-san is dating?"

The brat gave a superior smile. "She isn't dating him yet. He's from Konoha, really, but he's been in Suna for a long time. He is _super_ in love with her so I expect it won't take long. I heard he's really handsome, too…" the little girl let out a dreamy sigh, "just like Genji-kun."

The girl continued to ramble about the Hyuuga boy, but Naruto was lost in his thoughts and barely heard her. _At least she isn't a liar…just majorly misinformed. Apparently Sakura thinks I'm still the flamboyant little kid he had shown to the world back before he turned missing-nin. We will still be having words._

The chuunin instructor walked in just in time to see Harano Sayuri smack a blonde boy in the head for not replying to her. A closer look at the blonde child showed that he actually under a Henge, one constructed well enough to deal with physical contact. The man stifled a laugh at the idea of an academy student hitting the ANBU operative he knew was going to be in the class.

"Sayuri, take your seat. Ok, now we're going to be reviewing chakra. Can anyone tell me something about chakra? Thank you for volunteering, Aiko…"

* * *

After school, Harano Sayuri watched the annoying blonde boy from the morning walk off by himself. _Ha! The kid doesn't even have a family to pick him up from school. What a loser. I can barely believe I'm in a class with some no-name dead last…_ She didn't notice the three other children who walked after him with concerned looks on their faces.

A moment after the boy had disappeared behind one of the buildings nearby, a massive chakra wave slammed into her. Sayuri gasped in shock; it felt as if the very air around her was crushing her into the ground. She sank to her knees, panting heavily, and dimly noticed that other children and even some of the former shinobi/parents were doing the same.

As the young girl gradually regained her breath, she could only wonder who would have been able to generate such an intense chakra pressure. Whoever it was, there was no doubt in her mind he or she must be exceedingly powerful. _Maybe even stronger than Sakura-neesama..._

* * *

Tsunade was in her office doing paperwork — and drinking the odd bowl of saké — when suddenly the uncomfortable feeling of killing intent hit her. Not only that, but it was of a scale rarely seen, and it was coming closer, **_fast._** She stood up, focusing herself, not really sure what to expect.

The door blasted open to reveal a masked Naruto.

"Where is Sakura?" he growled as he stalked into the room, slamming the door behind him.

Her eyes widened at his tone. _Why is he so angry?_ "Sakura is fine, Naruto, you don't need to worry about — "

"That isn't what I asked. Where the hell is she?!"

She arched an eyebrow at his tone before replying guardedly. "Why do you want to know?"

"Pinky and I need to have a little chat. Don't worry, I won't harm _your apprentice_."

The loathing in his voice threw her for a loop. "You saw her last night," she said, attempting to make sense of the situation. "I would have thought…certain grievances…would have been dealt with by now."

"Oh, no. No. She had to go and make _new_ ones. Tell me where she is." He visibly calmed himself. "I promise I won't hurt her, but we _really_ need to get some things straightened out."

_Well…he did promise, so…_Tsunade decided not to press the button informing Shizune that no one was to be allowed into the office. She frowned thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "Sakura is actually on her way here."

"I'll wait."

The two of them stood there for a minute, Naruto still seething, Tsunade eyeing him, trying to figure out what was going on.

The door opened. "Tsunade-shishou, I have those reports you asked for—" Her expression brightened when she saw who else was in the room. "Oh! Hi Naruto! How are— "

"Sakura, come with me. Now."

The pinkette blinked in confusion. "Umm, ok…how come?"

Not bothering to give her a response, he grabbed her arm tightly and the two of them vanished.

Tsunade sat down in her chair, folding her hands in front of her. Although she had no doubt that Sakura would be alright, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly had happened between them since his return._ …Wow though. Wind Shunshin, with no hand seals, while carrying another chakra signature with him. I knew he had a wind element, so the Shunshin wasn't a huge surprise, but damn…the chakra control needed for that…how much have you improved, gaki?_

Sakura and Naruto rematerialized in one of the training grounds, which was luckily empty.

She extracted her arm from his iron grip and rubbed the area he had grabbed her. "Umm, it's not that I'm not pleased to see you, but what's going on?"

"Explain to me why one Harano Sayuri, who was busy fangirl-ing over some Hyuuga, informed my Henged self that the two of us were dating."

Sakura blushed. "Well…uh, if you want to, I thought we could go on that date you always asked me for?"

Naruto pulled off his mask and attached it to his belt, his newly revealed face incredulous. "Are you brain dead? Why the FUCK should I want to spend any time with you whatsoever?"

Sakura was stunned. This was certainly not a reaction she had expected. "B-but…Naruto-kun – "

"Don't you _dare_ call me that."

"I – I don't understand – "

Naruto rolled his eyes in response. "Wow, Sakura, and here I thought you were smart. First, I'll give you the simple explanation. Yeah, I asked you out all the time. That was seven years ago, and before you attacked my mutilated body and left me to die at the hands of prejudiced idiots. I won't even start talking about all the times you tried to beat me up aside from that one glowing example; I think it does the job quite nicely on its own, don't you?" His voice became louder with each word he spoke, and each word seemed to hit Sakura like a slap in the face.

The girl stared at him in disbelief, which quickly changed into sadness. "N-Naruto, I'm s-sorry," she stuttered before beginning to cry. Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, his eyes narrowed. "An apology?" he laughed bitterly. "Do you think that means anything to me? You don't honestly think that everything will be alright again just by saying 'I'm sorry'?" Sakura began to cry harder, causing Naruto to roll his eyes again. "Oh, come on!" he yelled at her, his voice holding not even the slightest hint of compassion or sympathy. "Don't even start with that. You're allowed to cry after you've suffered as much as I have."

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. For the seven years since he had fled Konoha, she had never once forgotten him. She knew she had to apologize for what she had done, because it was wrong. Over the years, though, she had realized just how much Naruto and his constant encouragement had meant to her, and she had decided that she would do everything to get him back in her life.

This, though…Why wouldn't Naruto accept her apology? She had never been more sincere about anything in her entire life. She really wanted to be with him; the fact that he was absurdly good-looking was just a bonus.

Sakura raised her head, forcing herself to look into Naruto's eyes. A cold chill shot through her spine and then spread to every part of her body. There was no kindness in his eyes, no sympathy for her situation, only anger and betrayal. She immediately averted her gaze, afraid to look at him any longer.

She collapsed bonelessly against his chest; he tensed, but didn't push her away. "P-please, N-Naruto…" Her tears were now flowing in streams down her cheeks, and had started to soak his shirt. He barely noticed.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he ignored the girl's desperate crying. It sounded genuine and heartfelt, which surprised him somewhat, if not nearly enough to alliviate the situation. Naruto fixed his former teammate with an intense stare.

"Oh, and Sakura?"

(sniff) "Yeah, Naruto?"

"I've got a secret for you."

"R-really? What's that?" She wiped away a tear, her voice sounding slightly hopeful.

He leaned in, until his lips were practically touching her ear, and whispered. "I never liked you, Sakura. It was all part of an act, a great big act to make me look like a fool so the villagers wouldn't think I was a major threat, an act that worked relatively well until I was sent after everyone's favourite traitorous Uchiha. So stew on that, Pinky. Don't presume you know anything about me."

He pushed her away from him, and she fell into a sitting position on the grass. He put on his mask, turned around and started to walk away. "After all, Sakura, you never once tried to get to know the real me. Maybe if you had, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did."

He walked a few more steps, glanced back once, and then vanished in the same technique as he used to bring them there.

Meanwhile, Sakura, alone and abandoned, continued to cry, tears flowing down her face as she started to think back on Naruto's words and their shared past.

* * *

Naruto had thought he would feel better after raging at the girl who had ruined a good portion of his life. He didn't. He felt awful.

After he reappeared at the ANBU barracks, he strode wordlessly past his concerned teammates, sat down on his bedroll, and began to meditate. Jiraiya had always told him it was a good idea when the mind lost its delicate balance.

* * *

ZOMFG longest chapter yet, clocking in at over eight thousand words! That was worth the wait, right everyone? Right??

It's not my fault. Blame my boss, who has decided that since I am one of the few truly competant staff not on vacation, I must be on EVERY BLOODY SHIFT to ensure nothing goes wrong. Also, blame writer's block, which was plaguing me for a while there.

A/N: I never did clarify this, but Fujitaka Nariko is 'Nariko' from Heavenly Sword, in ANBU garb, with a ridiculously strong Fire element and (naturally) a zanbatou. She's just a minor character, but I thought the cameo was kinda cool. Hiro is a slightly lazy male version of Nariko; similar looks, same ridiculously strong Fire element and a pair of dual wakizashi instead of a zanbatou.

On a related note: I decided who Gaara will be paired with; the lucky girl is, in fact, a canon character. No Gaara/OC lovin' this time. And an apology to Gaara fans: it isn't going to be a major part of the story. I'm using him more the way army generals use guided missiles - to kill things. Lots of things. Foreshadow much?

* * *

Remember, every time you read and don't review, Orochimaru experiments on an innocent little kid. Remember Isaribi? What he did to her is NICE compared to the fate of one poor, cute child under the age of ten for each person who doesn't submit a review.

PLEASE! Think of the children! Because **YOU** can make a difference!

(that one was for you, Anzer'ke)


	8. Old Enemies And New Beginnings

**Legend:**

DISCLAIMER: Hey, guess what? I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't mind owning Anko or Kurenai, though...yeah...that would be nice...

A/N: Never let it be said that I don't reward my loyal readers. One of them got a surprise cameo. You know who you are.

A/N: This chapter features a shitload of original jutsus. These are my creations, and are the result of my time spent on several translator programs. I'm willing to let other authors use any/all of them; provided I get credit for my work. A simple author's note mentioning me is good enough. I would also appreciate a PM letting me know if you're going to use my work; I would like to read/review stories with elements I inspired. And since I'm such a nice guy, I've even provided a complete listing of all original jutsu (OJ for short) at the end of the chapter, with detailed descriptions. Enjoy.

* * *

_THE BUMP SECTION!_

New to welltossedsalad's introductory chatter is _THE BUMP SECTION_ where I thank those who deserve it by means of a bump!  
For those of you not in the know, anyone in _THE BUMP SECTION_ should be applauded, and if they are an author, you should check out their work.  
Now, with that said...

_BUMP!_ KingKakashi, for several helpful comments.  
_FINAL BUMP!_ JH24, my phenomenal betareader. As always, your help was an invaluable contribution to this chapter. Thanks again.

Q and A:

A few questions that keep popping up…

_Is __Legend__ strictly NaruHina, or will it turn into a Harem?_  
Strictly NaruHina. I don't have any issues with Harem fics, but our beloved blonde will remain a one-woman man. That said, don't expect it to be easy for Hinata; I don't believe in any sort of 'true love' or 'love at first sight' so expect that to show through. As things stand now, Hinata is devoted to Naruto, but he sees her as a trusted friend that he wants to get to know better

_Are there going to be any other pairings in the fic?_  
Well…yes, but they won't be important to the story. The only one I've settled on is NejiTen (in an earlier chapter I believe I mentioned they were together), but I may also include ShikaIno, KakaKure (Asuma is dead, after all; Kurenai has grieved, but is moving on with her life), KibaOC…maybe a couple others. These are potentially subject to change, and they may not appear in the story at all – again, focus is on the plot, and the main pairing is NaruHina.

_Will there be lemons/M-rated material?_  
Probably not. There will be suggestive scenes, and the fic will likely earn its 'T' rating (if the violence and my tendency to use naughty words haven't already done it) but I am not currently planning to write any explicit sex scenes. I have tried writing lemons a couple of times, but the end results always seemed inadequate. So unless the vast majority of reviewers are begging for graphic depictions of hot NaruHina shmexing, the story will stay rated 'T'.

_WHY IS THERE NO NARUHINA FLUFF?!_  
Hey, gotta build up to it. But there is fluff this chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon_

**_Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality_**

**"Jutsu"**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Old Enemies and New Beginnings**

* * *

Naruto's eyes opened slowly. His meditation session had lasted for quite a while; the sun had made significant progress in its daily journey, and was now hovering above the horizon.

He felt somewhat better. While still angry, both at Sakura for a lifetime's worth of injustices and himself for his own behaviour, he had calmed down and was thinking rationally again.

The sound of a throat clearing behind him let him know he wasn't alone. Without turning his head, he spoke quietly. "Hey, Temari. How long have you been there?"

He knew exactly how she would look; slightly sheepish, and trying to hide it. "Since you went into your little trance there. I've just been reading while I waited for you to rejoin the land of the living."

He snorted at this. "Very funny."

She hesitated. "So...wanna talk about what happened?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "There isn't really much to tell. Hearing that kid yammering set me off, so I borrowed Sakura from Tsunade for a little chat to set some things straight. After losing my temper and acting like a jerk, I took off and came back here."

He finally turned to face her. She was giving him a concerned look; they had been quite common ever since the team arrived in Konoha.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable about the sudden silence, Naruto tried to find another topic. "Where are the other two?"

It was Temari's turn to shrug. "Not sure. They left a while ago to get a bite to eat."

The mentioning of food made his stomach growl; he hadn't eaten since lunch at the academy, and the glorious sunset indicated it had to be at least eight in the evening. "You wanna do the same?" The young ninja asked as he stood up, stretching out his arms. "I wouldn't mind a good meal; if memory serves, there's a good sashimi place not far from here. I've never actually been there, but a few of my peers raved about it back in the day."

Temari brightened. "Sounds great. Let's go."

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair; both individuals were too hungry to bother with conversation. At Naruto's request they had been given a private booth; he didn't want to expose his face in public if possible. The mask came off only after the food had arrived and went back on before they departed.

It had been quite the day, so neither party had a problem with going to bed earlier than usual. After briefly meeting up with the twins, they said goodnight and hit the sack.

The next morning, Naruto woke up feeling refreshed. After a bowl of cereal and a quick shower he was ready for the day…but his team was not.

"Hiro! Get your lazy ass out here!"

The young man in question yawned as he wandered out of his room into the hallway. "I'm coming, I'm coming…Kami, stop being such a hardass…"

Naruto glared. "Wanna repeat that?"

"…no, not really…"

"That's what I thought. Now _move_!"

Hiro slumped dejectedly. "Hai, taichou…"

When the redheaded boy was finally ready, the question the three team members had been wondering (about) was asked by Temari. "So…" she began, frowning slightly, "I thought you said we only had to go to the academy once every four days? What's the change in plans for?"

Naruto couldn't hold back a smile; he had been expecting that question. "Gaara decided that we should split up; there are four age groups, so if we each take one, we'll maximize the amount and the span of the intel we're gathering. I'm taking the twelve-year-olds, Nariko, you're with the elevens, Temari is on the ten-year-olds, and you, Hiro, get to sit in with the beginning students."

There were several groans. Choosing to ignore them, Naruto continued. "Everyone, while it may not be the kind of mission we're used to, it is still a task given us by our Kazekage. We owe it to him to give it our best work."

"Come _on, _taichou…Temari-chan is his sister, and you're his best friend! Pull some strings and get us back home! Pretty please!"

"No. Now go; I believe you need to go learn about what ninjas are, and how to properly arrange flowers, and all sorts of other great things." Naruto grinned teasingly. "Have fun!"

Hiro glared. "You're a sadist, you know that, right?"

Naruto shrugged. "You guys laughed at me yesterday. It was a choice between this and a three hour session on my personal training grounds back home. He narrowed his eyes, gazing sternly at his subordinate. Which would you prefer?"

Visibly shaken, Hiro replied. "Uhh…I…I think the academy isn't sounding so bad, ya know? I'll just be heading off to class now. See-you-later-bye!"

He vanished in a column of fire.

Naruto chuckled to himself. "I can't believe he fell for that. He knows I wouldn't put him through my training for three hours; one would be more than enough to kill him."

Still smirking, the blonde Shunshined to the academy. He had classes to observe.

After arrival, Naruto quickly Henged into the same skinny blonde kid whose appearance he had assumed yesterday before heading inside. This time he selected a seat by the window; he didn't want another altercation with the children from yesterday.

A voice suddenly rang out from his left. "You. Get out of my seat. Now!"

_Are you fucking kidding me?! Not again…_He turned around, trying to keep his annoyance hidden. "Genji-san," he replied calmly, "if memory serves, your seat is located two rows ahead and four seats to the right of this one."

"No. This is my seat today. Move."

Naruto suppressed a groan. The brat was trying to bully him. It would have been laughable if it wasn't so damn annoying. "Very well, Genji-san."

As he got up to shift seats, he was struck on the head by a small manicured hand. _Great, the fangirl finally makes her presence known. Today just keeps getting better and better… _"I told you! You will refer to him as Genji-_sama_! Don't you forget it!"

_Ok…since I'm not in the habit of addressing bratty academy students with any respect…diversion tactics_.

"Sayuri-san, you are preventing me from carrying out Genji-san's request. If you would move, I would be able to do as he asks."

She sniffed at this, and her hand twitched as if to strike him again, but she moved aside. Naruto then walked over to another seat and sat down, ignoring the glares from both children he had left behind.

"So, you think you'll pass?"

Naruto turned around. The boy he had sat beside was grinning at him uncertainly. "Umm…pass? Is there some sort of test today?"

The kid smacked his own forehead in disbelief. "You mean you don't know?!"

He slightly tilted his head in response. "No, it would seem I don't, umm…"

"It's Jiro, Hikarishi Jiro."

Naruto gave the boy a smile of his own. "I just transferred into this class yesterday. I don't really know what the schedule is."

"Oh. Well that explains it, I guess…but today is the graduation exam! I hope I do okay…I've been practicing really hard."

Naruto gave Jiro a supportive pat on the back. "You'll do fine."

"Thanks! Uh…I never caught your name."

"Takeshi."

"Good to meet you, Takeshi!" Jiro said, grinning widely

"Likewise." The blonde smiled in return.

Any further conversation between student and undercover operative was cut off when the instructor appeared. "Okay brats, listen up! I'm going to be calling you up one by one for the final portion of the exam, the ninjutsu test! Alright. Aburame Kira, you're up first…"

It was interesting for Naruto to watch the proceedings. Just like when he had taken the test years ago, students were called up to demonstrate the Kawarimi, Bunshin and Henge. The large percentage of students who failed the test surprised him; he had been the only one to flunk out in his graduating class. _Must have been a good year when I did it…_

The voice of the instructor pulled him out of his thoughts. "Takeshi!"

He hadn't been expecting that. Students had to be formally enrolled before they were allowed to take the test; he and his team certainly shouldn't have been. After a quick scan of the room to make sure the name didn't belong to anyone else, he got up and walked to the front of the class.

A glance at the instructor's clipboard made him wonder. A full file on his assumed student's performance was there, complete with the results of previous tests:  
Academy Taijutsu – pass.  
Written – pass.  
Weapons – pass.  
Ninjutsu – .

Naruto suppressed a frown. Why would he have these results? The only one with the authority to doctor the records in this way would be the examiner – and the man had no reason to do so – and the Hokage, which led him to believe that Tsunade was behind this. _What are you plotting, baa-chan? I suppose I'll play along for now, but…_

After years of gruelling training exercises, being asked to perform such rudimentary skills was laughable. After using each of the techniques he picked up a Konoha hitai-ate from the pile and carried it back to his desk. The idea of actually wearing the thing disgusted him.

Jiro patted him on the back when he sat down. "Way to go! You didn't have any problems at all! How'd you get so good?"

Naruto laughed inwardly at the impressionable boy and answered, "Training. Lots of hard work."

Across the room, both Genji and Sayuri were glaring at him. He winked at them, and chuckled inwardly at how their eyes widened in anger. _T__hat's right. I forgot, no one's allowed to do it as well as the class prodigy…_

The instructor's voice snapped him out of his reverie once again. The man had begun listing the team assignments.

"…Hoshu Masashi. Team Seven is Takeshi," _…oh the nostalgia is killing me…_ "Haruno Sayuri and Hyuuga Genji. Sensei: Hyuuga Hinata."_Well, it makes sense that they would have a Hyuuga teach a Hyuuga…_ His eyes widened marginally. _Wait__ what? Hinata?!_

* * *

Hinata walked over to the ninja academy to collect her students. She was excited about meeting her team; it was her first time actually teaching, instead of just being taught. She had a strong desire to help the system that helped her, and becoming a jounin-sensei seemed like the perfect way to do it. The fact that she, as an ex-ANBU operative and by far the strongest of this year's potential jounin-sensei, would be getting the number one ranked male and female students would just be a bonus. Her thoughts were more on her team's third member, though; the two best were paired with the academy dead-last, and she intended to make the child a force to be reckoned with just like his or her more skilled teammates.

When she arrived and was introduced to her team, she couldn't help but laugh. Her new squad was eerily similar to her own year's Team Seven, consisting of a slightly stuck-up boy with black hair and special eyes, a Haruno fangirl with good chakra control who excelled with the theoretical and did decently with the practical, and a young blonde boy who finished last in his class; something about not attending classes.

Hinata frowned. She detected a slight chakra aura around the blonde boy; he was under a Henge. Rather than dispel the technique out of hand, she decided it would be best to talk to him about it later.

"Hello Team Seven. Please meet me on the roof in five minutes."

Suiting her own words, she vanished amidst the swirling of leaves.

When the three prospective genin arrived, she smiled at them. "Since we're a team now, how about we introduce ourselves?"

The little Haruno girl spoke up. "Can you go first Hinata-sensei, so we can see how it's done?"

"Alright. My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I am the Heir of the Hyuuga clan. I spend my time with my friends, my immediate family, and with my sparring partners. I like cinnamon rolls, the local wildlife, and all the people who helped me grow stronger. I dislike rude people and those who are overly judgemental. My main ambition is to become stronger and my dreams... well, I suppose I can tell you one of them. I wish to eventually lead my clan into an age of prosperity." Hinata paused for a moment and then gazed at the girl in front of her. "Alright, because you spoke first, you can answer first.

The brunette gave a self-assured smile. "My name is Haruno Sayuri, of the noble Haruno family. I spend my time with my friends, and..." She began to blush as she looked over at her raven-haired teammate. "I like..." Another glance at the Hyuuga boy. "I dislike annoying people who don't know how to respect their betters!" This was directed with a glare at the blonde boy, who sighed before looking away. "My ambition is to be like my cousin Sakura and my dream is..." Yet another stare at the Hyuuga boy.

Hinata didn't like the child's poor treatment of her blonde teammate, but knew she would have time to work on it later. "Ok, you next." Hinata then pointed at the object of Sayuri's affections.

His response was short and delivered in an emotionless monotone. "I am Hyuuga Genji of the Main Hyuuga Family. I like some things, and dislike other things. My ambition is to become stronger than anyone else."

"I see." Hinata already knew getting her team to work together was not going to be easy. She then turned towards the third team member. "Okay, your turn now." She indicated the blonde boy.

The blonde straightened slightly from his earlier slumped sitting position as he turned to look at her. "My name is Takeshi. I spend the majority of my time training, either with my friends or on my own. I enjoy a good meal - ramen is always nice - and I like many things. There are a few things I dislike, but those are personal, as are my ambition and my dreams."

Hinata smiled warmly. "Ok then! Now that we all know a little bit about each other, I want you to meet me at training ground twenty-two in one hour. Bring all of the ninja gear that you would want to take on a mission with you."

The students nodded and started to walk away. "Takeshi, a moment of your time."

The boy turned around. "Of course, Hinata-sensei."

Hinata waited a few seconds until the other members of her team were far enough away, while looking at the boy before her with interest, who had put his hands in his pockets again and was looking back into her eyes. She then asked him, "Can you tell me why you hide yourself under a Henge?"

He grinned at her, a surprising shift from his bored demeanour earlier. "It would be easier to show you, Hinata-_sensei_."

She blinked at his exaggeration on the word sensei. Takeshi muttered "Kai!" and was immediately surrounded by a cloud of smoke. And when it cleared…

Hinata's mouth fell open, her eyes widening from shock. It took her a few seconds before she was able to reply.

"N-Naruto-kun?! Wh-what a-are you doing here?!"

He cocked his head slightly, evidently confused. "They never briefed you on the situation?"

"W-what situation?" Hinata answered, still overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events.

Naruto put a finger on her lips; she wondered briefly if all the blood rushing to her face might be needed elsewhere.

"Hey. You're not still doing that whole stuttering thing, are you?"

She swallowed, then shook her head. "No. Sorry about that."

He grinned at her. "No worries. Anyway, long story short, Suna isn't graduating very many students, so Gaara decided to send a team to check out Konoha's academy to pick up ideas. My squad volunteered."

"I see." Hinata managed to compose herself and was now listening calmly to Naruto's explanation. "But why are ANBU doing such a simple mission?"

He shrugged. "I requested it. Figured it was about time I made good on that promise I gave you about coming back, huh?"

_He did remember after all_... "Hai. It's... it's good to see you again, Naruto-kun."

He flashed her a calmer, more subdued version of the brilliant smile his younger self had. "It's good to see you too, Hinata-chan. You know, it might be nice to catch up on everything; besides, there's probably enough time to sneak in a meal before your genin test."

Hinata's heart practically stopped. Was Naruto asking her out? Only years of practice kept her from blushing and stuttering. "Umm...I actually have plans for lunch." – She did. Hinata had a habit of eating with her father; he got lonely, most of the clan wouldn't go near him for fear of contracting his illness, despite Tsunade's assurances that it wasn't contagious – "But are you free for dinner?"

"Sure. Tell you what, there's this great sashimi place Temari and I found yesterday, the _Azure Dragon._ How about we go there?"

She blinked. "Naruto, that's my favourite restaurant. How did you know?"

He shrugged again, grinning teasingly. "Guess I'm just that good."

She giggled at him before they parted ways.

* * *

During the entire time she was with her father, Hinata's mind was on Naruto and her upcoming date, even if he hadn't called it that. Her father seemed somewhat amused by her distraction, and eventually asked, "So what's the occasion? I haven't seen you this happy since, well... I don't remember the last time you were this happy."

She flashed him a radiant smile. "I have a date!"

He chuckled. "Well, you certainly weren't this thrilled when you and the Inuzuka boy were going out; who is it?"

"Remember how I told you about Uzumaki Naruto?"

Hiashi looked up in surprise. "Uzumaki Naruto? Yes, he's been gone for over seven years." He put down his drink on the table, but Hinata could see that he only did that to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts. The man stared at his daughter solemnly. "Does this mean he has returned to Konoha?"

"Well, sort of... It seems he's been living in Sunagakure no Sato, and he's here on a mission." She smiled happily. "I finally know where he is, what he's been doing, how he's been…"

"Suna? I see." The sick man arched an eyebrow. "You say he's still a ninja; what's his rank?"

"Jounin," Hinata replied with enthusiasm. "He's also an ANBU captain."

Hiashi smiled and ruffled her hair, glad to see his daughter in such high spirits. "You know how to pick them, it seems."

Hinata glared half-heartedly at her father. "Otou-san! That's – "

She stopped when he groaned in pain, and jumped out of her seat in order to run a quick pain relief jutsu.

When she finished he looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault you got cursed with this... cancer."

He looked rather embarrassed, though. "So how are your new students?"

* * *

Tsunade looked up to see a very different Naruto from the one she had encountered the day before. Gone was the anger, to be replaced by hesitancy and slight confusion. He stopped in front of her desk.

"Umm, I have a question for ya, Tsunade. I can understand that you and Gaara would want me to observe jounin/genin interactions and training, but why... put me on a team? I'm going to be leaving in less than a month, leaving the team minus a member. So why'd you do it?"

Tsunade slowly leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Don't worry about it," she replied seriously, fixing him with a stare. "For the past three years, the members of each team have been switched up after a two-month period; this continues until the jounin-sensei all agree that their individual teams function well. So it isn't a problem."

Naruto nodded and began to leave. "Fair enough. See you around."

After he left, Tsunade smiled, pulled out a bottle of saké, poured herself a half-bowl and silently congratulated herself. _Playing matchmaker is so much fun._

* * *

Naruto, back under the Takeshi Henge, walked out of Konoha via the main gate. Training ground twenty-two was just outside the village.

He still had about twenty minutes before he had to be there, but arriving early meant that he could check out the area for any little surprises Hinata might be leaving for unsuspecting genin.

Naruto arrived to find Hinata just standing there. "Hey," he said, raising a hand.

She turned to face him. "Hi. Um, what time are we meeting at the Azure Dragon again?"

"Tell ya what, I'll come by and we can walk there. I doubt we'll need reservations, so I'll come by the Hyuuga compound at six, alright?"

She giggled, and he raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Hinata-chan?"

"It's just...I can't stop thinking that I'm having this conversation with a twelve-year-old."

The blonde teen couldn't help but smile. However, his retort was cut off when Hinata stiffened. "Do you feel that?"

He did, and his smile vanished. "Four chakra signatures, pretty strong ones too, coming this way fast."

She looked at him. "Let's hope they're friendly."

He looked back grimly. "Indeed."

Any further dialogue was prevented when three figures stepped into the clearing. "Well now, it looks like we have a teacher and her brat. Aramaki and I will take the teacher," came the cocky proclamation from the leader; a hard-as-nails Iwa kunoichi who looked like she chewed rocks for breakfast. _With a jaw like that, she probably could, _Naruto mused idly.

Hinata answered, sounding confident. "A teacher and her brat indeed... I should warn you, if you don't turn away now, I will be forced to incapacitate you." She obviously wasn't worried about her foes, so Naruto decided not to worry about her. _Same old Hinata...doesn't want to hurt anyone, but perfectly capable of doing so if pressed. I wonder how much she's improved..._

The three Iwa-nin blurred forward, drawing weapons as they came. Naruto dropped his Henge and drew his katana, having decided to use _Dance of the Hummingbird_ against their opponents. His opponent's eyes widened slightly as the short academy student morphed into a tall muscular shinobi, but that was the man's only noticeable reaction before they engaged each other.

He dodged a stab from his opponent's left kunai and blocked the slash from the right kunai with his blade, before kicking the man in the face - a powerful attack, as his getas sported steel studs. When his opponent's head snapped back, baring his throat, Naruto slashed at man's exposed neck, only to have it clang off of iron-hard skin. **"Tetsuhada, (1)**" Naruto muttered, somewhat surprised.

The Iwa-nin smirked as Naruto jumped back, creating some distance between them. "So, you know what you're up against. You could just surrender now. I'll try to make it painless."

Naruto smirked back, and sheathed his katana before slipping his mask on.

His opponent blanched momentarily, but soon reverted back to his superior smile. "Nice try, kid," he chuckled, although a slight hint of uncertainty lined his voice. "You really had me there for a second, what with the Henge and the mask. But don't bother pretending to be Subaku no Takeshi; we all know him on sight. Now my offer still stands. Drop your weapons, and I'll give you a quick death."

Naruto threw back his head and laughed, a loud howl of hilarity. His head snapped back down and he stared at his foe. With a voice mirthful enough to _almost _hide the undertone of predatory anticipation, he replied. "Quick death indeed. Did you know, there are only three ways to defeat a powerful Tetsuhada user?"

The man looked shocked, likely because someone he thought to be a child Henged into a jounin knew how to fight him. Naruto decided to elaborate. He held up a finger. "One. Keep hitting them, and eventually they will run out of chakra to reinforce their skin with, leaving them vulnerable to even simple attacks. Two, hit them with Raiton jutsus; the metal skin conducts electricity. Three, overwhelm them with a stronger force. Unluckily for you, I can kill you with all three. So, let's see...decisions, decisions..." The powerful young ninja crossed his arms, pretending to think deeply about his choices. "Option one takes a while, so that's out, and I don't want to completely devastate the surrounding area. I know, how about we play with Lightning?"

"You talk too much, brat," the Iwa-nin hissed, but it didn't came out as confident as he intended to, and he felt sure his adversary had noticed. For some reason the man couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right here_._ He shifted into another defensive position. _The most important thing would be to remain calm and composed, and to let my opponent make the first move._ "Show me what you've got. It's time to back up your words."

Naruto put his hands together in front of him. "As you wish," he replied with a feral grin.

Naruto's chakra, dormant until now, erupted out of him in a wave of blue energy. He raised his hands.** "Raiton: Denkou no Zanbatou!" (2) **The Iwa ninja staggered backwards, his senses being overwhelmed by the raw amount of chakra that suddenly seemed to be everywhere around him.

When a massive, crackling blade of yellow energy formed in Naruto's hands, the blonde ninja shifted his stance into a low guard position. "You offered me a quick death. I'll make sure you get one." Naruto said, his voice sounding serious.

Desperately his foe leapt at him, stabbing with both kunai; Naruto had no difficulty dodging the hasty attack. **"Denkou no Funkei!" (3)**

The gigantic sword swung up and sliced through the man's neck as if it were nothing but paper. He didn't wait for the head to hit the ground; instead as his sword disappeared he took off in search of the fourth chakra signature, the one that had been trying to interfere in Hinata's fight with genjutsu.

It didn't take long. With his chakra-enhanced senses, he smelled the man's sweat, heard him breathing, felt every slight movement. He used his Wind Shunshin to teleport directly behind the ninja and then tapped him on the shoulder.

Judging by the smell, the fellow had just crapped himself. Evidently he had seen the way Naruto had handled his comrade. To his credit, though, the man didn't run. The Iwa ninja didn't even look behind him. In a slightly strained voice, he said, "An honourable opponent would allow me to fight with nothing but ninjutsu, and would do the same."

Naruto laughed beneath his mask. "This coming from someone who tried to strike from the shadows while Hinata and I were outnumbered. You might have been successful if she wasn't a Hyuuga; I assume you know just how ineffective genjutsu is on them? Do try to remember, we're ninja. We're not supposed to have honour. Nevertheless, I will grant your request. I'll even try not to kill you too quickly."

The man jumped backwards. After quickly running through a sequence of seventeen hand seals, he uttered, **"Doton: Maruishi Hougeki! (4)"**

The ninjutsu user raised his arms, and two massive boulders ripped themselves from the earth to float slightly above the ground. The man brought his hands together in the **Saru (5)** seal and the first boulder rocketed towards Naruto.

The blonde jounin made a single **Inoshishi(6)** seal. **"Fuuton: Kajoudageki. (7)"** Naruto then raised his right hand, and a beam of Wind about the width of his forearm shot from his palm at the moving earthen mass. The beam went directly through the boulder without even slowing, and a moment after the collision, the rock exploded outwards, covering the immediate area with shrapnel. The Iwa-nin dove behind a tree for shelter while Naruto made a half-seal with his free left hand.** "Fuuton: Kaze no Tate. (8)"** A circular barrier of spinning air with an impressive two metre diameter materialized in front of him. Any and all chips of stone that had been launched in his direction were caught by the swirling air and were sent off along a different trajectory.

Naruto had to admit, his opponent had some skill. The speed with which he performed the hand seals was definitely impressive. Even as the Iwa ninja dove for cover, he had completed another sequence. **"Doton: Iwa Kasui! (9)"**

The ground in front of the Rock ninja bulged, and finally popped to reveal a cluster of thick stone spikes. He let out a chakra pulse, and the spikes promptly shot into the air towards Naruto, who decided to respond in kind. After spitting on the ground, he made a single hand seal. "**Suiton: Mizuhari. (10)**"

The moisture in the saliva was converted into a number of tiny water needles. With his right hand, Naruto launched his impromptu projectiles at his opponent while he made the _**Tatsu **_**(11)** half-seal with his left. "**Fuuton: Touketsu Hitofuki. (12)**" At his command, a gust of icy wind erupted from his fingertips, quickly overtaking the slower needles of water. Due to the extreme cold they had been subjected to, each needle froze solid. They sped up, hastened by the tailwind, and raced to meet the larger earthen spikes.

The Iwa ninja was shocked when his considerably larger projectiles simply fell to the ground upon impact with the tiny needles. "What…what happened?"

Naruto laughed. "It's simple physics. Your spikes and my needles had the same momentum; when they hit, they cancelled each other out."

The rock-nin glared. "That's impossible. My spikes are much larger."

The blonde shrugged. "Believe what you wish."

Rather than respond, the man let out another chakra pulse, sending the stone missiles at Naruto again. The blonde smirked beneath his mask. "**Ninpo: Demaibakuha. (13)**" Each of the ice needles, still embedded in the rock, exploded, turning the earthen spikes into dust.

The man slumped, looking worried, but eventually straightened up and faced Naruto with an unblinking gaze. "Very well. You have shown considerable mastery in ninjutsu, particularly with Fuuton. You are very strong."

Naruto stayed silent as the man rambled on for a while about honour and power, and how he had saved his strongest attack for last. It wasn't worth listening to; the Iwa-nin was a hypocrite anyway, after trying to place a genjutsu on Hinata, while they were preoccupied.

He pulled himself to attention when something of importance finally issued forth from the man's mouth. "**Doton: Soudai Gosunkugi Taihou! (14)" **His chakra flared, and Naruto watched with interest. The ground in a thirty-foot radius surrounding the Iwa jounin began to quiver. Much like it had earlier with the Rock Spike Technique, pockets of earth began started to bulge, only this time there were several hundred individual bulges. _Damn…if it's anything like the last one, then there should be twelve spikes per bulge. That's a shitload of rocks…_

The first bulge popped to reveal the expected number of projectiles. The Iwa-nin used a much larger chakra pulse to get them moving than he had before, resulting in greatly increased speed. Naruto quickly summoned his Kaze no Tate again, and was blocking spikes when suddenly one of the more recent salvos didn't fly straight but instead soared in a wide arc around him.

Naruto cursed. _He's planning to attack me from behind! _Realizing that the shield, which only guarded one side, was now useless, he briefly assessed his options. The other shielding techniques he knew wouldn't stand up to the kind of bombardment he was facing; this Soudai Gosunkugi Taihou had to be an S-rank technique. Since he couldn't defend himself by blocking, the only remaining option was to dodge everything. A sudden grin stole its way across his face as his hands settled into the _**Ushi **_**(15)** seal.

"**Fuuin: Inryokyfuuin, ichi tsuujite san, KAI! (16)"**

Even as a wall of earthen spikes flew towards him at high speed, Naruto took a moment to stretch, feeling unrestricted power surging through his limbs after he had removed the gravity seals. Then he disappeared in a burst of speed.

Rather than panic, the Iwa-nin made the most logical choice he could – unleash the earth's fury. Instead of launching in a single direction, rocky spikes shot off along every possible trajectory. So thick was the air with them that a kind of dome had formed around the rock ninja; as fast as the dome's components shot away, they were replaced by new ones ready to be sent off as well. They no longer flew truly straight, either; using his chakra, the man was causing his spikes to swerve slightly in the air, making it even harder for anyone to make it through the stony cloud of death.

Nevertheless, Naruto came. Wielding a Rasengan in each fist, he tore into one part of the dome. When a greater percentage of the projectiles began appearing to deal with the new threat, he vanished, only to reappear at another side, a weakened spot were the Iwa-nin had just withdrawn a large amount of spikes away from in order to counter the last attack of his lightning-fast opponent.

When more rocks showed up to block his advance, again he disappeared to attack a weaker point. It was slow going, but the blonde Suna-nin gradually made it closer to the centre.

The Iwa jounin was frantic. Never had anyone stood against his Grand Spike Cannon. It tore through all defences, chased down all opponents, and crushed all who dared defy its power. And yet, this _boy_ was dodging every last strike, all while making his own advance. It shouldn't be possible, yet somehow, a young man, thought to be a genin fresh out of the academy not ten minutes earlier, was running circles around him. He scrambled to come up with a plan, any idea that might allow him to defeat his blonde opponent.

All thought was cut off when Naruto appeared directly in front of him. His hands now lacking their chakra weapons, he jammed a finger onto the tendon on the side of the man's neck, causing him to limply fall to the ground, momentarily paralyzed. Naruto didn't wait for him to recover, and instead withdrew a brush and a small vial of ink. He drew the same seal at five different points on the man's body; on the backs of both hands, on the tops of both feet, and on the forehead. He then pulled out a kunai, poked the man's arm, and gathered the drop of blood that appeared. The slightly bloody kunai was then poked into the centre of each seal, at which point they glowed red before fading into the skin.

At Naruto's utterance of "**Fuuin: Tsuyoi Inryokyfuuin, ichi tsuujite go, (17**)" his prone foe's eyes bulged. The Iwa-nin was held fast to the ground by his own arms, legs and head, all of which now weighed many times more than they were ever intended to. A powerful taijutsu master might have been able to shift slightly, but the ninjutsu specialist didn't have a chance. Thus, he was perfectly aware of Naruto's next statement.

"You weren't bad, but it's time I stopped playing and got things over with," the young ninja said before chuckling briefly. "Capturing An Enemy Ninja For Dummies. Heh, I should write a do-it-yourself book. Alright, step one, 'render opponent unable to move', complete. Step two, 'break opponent's will'."

Naruto stared into his frozen foe's wide eyes, and began to go through hand seals. "Ushi, Tora, Hebi, Hitsuji, Tori, Tora, Inoshishi, Uma, Tatsu, Saru, Hitsuji, Hebi, Saru, Inu, Tora, Nezumi, Uma, Usagi, Hebi.** Magen: Susamajii Osore. (18)**"

Naruto's chakra pulsed once, and then silence. It was soon shattered by the Iwa-nin's full-throated scream, which continued until there was no air left in the man's lungs. His eyes rolled upwards, showing the whites, and his lips were covered in frothy spittle and blood from where he had chewed his own tongue. His entire body, despite the immense restraints it was subjected to, thrashed violently.

"Magen: Kai. **(19)**"

At Naruto's command, the technique ceased. The Iwa-jounin went limp. "And that takes care of step three, 'render opponent unconscious'. Fuuin: Kai." He grabbed his prone foe and tossed him over a shoulder. _I wonder how Hinata did with her fight…_

* * *

Upon returning to the clearing, Naruto's unvoiced question was answered. Hinata was in the process of tying up a stony-faced young man – _Aramaki, yes, that's what the leader called him _– who seemed to be paralyzed from the neck down.

Naruto quickly scanned the area, looking for the kunoichi leader. Finding her wasn't hard; there was a large red smear on a nearby boulder. _Damn…I knew she was bound to get stronger, but this…way to go, Hinata-chan!_

He walked towards her, and she spoke without turning around. "It went well then, Naruto-kun?"

He nodded and set down his prisoner's body beside the one she was currently trussing up, only standing up after the gravity seals on his prisoner were back in effect. "Hai. I thought this one here might come in handy; be it as a hostage or for interrogation."

She looked at him, her face grave. Obviously little had changed; Hinata still hated hurting others, much less killing them. "That is the genjutsu user?"

He nodded again. "This one specializes in ninjutsu; the genjutsu was just a gimmick to distract you while we were fighting. He has…odd…views on honour and its applications in combat."

She shrugged and finished knotting the last piece of rope before she turned pale and would have fallen had he not caught her arm. "Sorry; it's just…I'll never get used to it, you know? It's why I had to quit ANBU. I still see their faces. Still, Naruto, after all this time!" Hinata jabbed a thumb in the direction of the red-splattered boulder. "She was one of the worst. She knew in advance that she was going to die and there was nothing she could do. Her face, it was…" Hinata's eyes were wet, her gaze downcast, as though she was afraid to look at him for fear of what he might be thinking of her.

Naruto pulled her into a rough hug. "It's ok, Hinata-chan…you did what you had to do." He winced immediately after speaking; such harsh justifications of violence were not what she needed to hear.

Rather than argue the point, she simply hugged him back, silent tears working their way through his shirt. Realizing that words were useless, he gently pulled her closer and just held her.

* * *

Haruno Sayuri was a very happy girl. She was on a genin team with the boy of her dreams; she had, by all accounts, an exceptional sensei; and she was about to have a chance to show Genji-kun just how great she really was while putting a certain blonde dobe in his place.

She walked towards the clearing where Hinata-sensei had told them to meet, daydreaming about her upcoming genin test. _Oh no Genji-kun! If it wasn't for that baka Takeshi you would have done it for sure, and now you're injured! Quick, I'll heal you!_

_You…you would do that for me, Sayuri-chan? I am unworthy…_

_Oh, don't worry about it. I'll have you fixed up in no time so you can show Takeshi-baka who's boss!_

_Thank you, Sayuri-chan. How can I ever repay you?_

_Well, you could always – _

Her daydream came to an abrupt halt when she tripped over something on the path and landed in the dirt. She stood up and brushed herself off, before turning to berate the root that had _dared ____to _impede her progress. Only thing was, it wasn't a root. She had tripped over the hogtied body of an angry man with an Iwa hitai-ate.

Sayuri shrieked in fear.

"Shut the hell up, kid, and get lost. You can come back for your test in a little while," someone said behind her in a harsh tone.

Still shaking, and desperately trying not to faint, Sayuri turned around. _Where's a hero like Genji-kun where you need him?!_ The girl's eyes widened as she discovered that the speaker was a _gorgeous_ blonde man about twenty feet away, sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a tree. His hand was resting gently on the blue hair of the a woman sleeping on the ground beside him, his lap her impromptu pillow. A woman that looked oddly like… Her mouth fell open. "Hinata-sensei?!"

The blonde man tilted his head far enough to gaze balefully at her with one brilliant blue eye. "Your sensei was just in a fight with two jounin," he explained quietly. "She's fine, just a little tired. Now leave. Come back in half an hour."

She didn't move, though. "How do I know that Hinata-sensei is safe with you? Who are you, anyway?" Sayuri definitely felt worried about her mentor, but she gratefully accepted the chance to ask questions so she would be able to get a better look at the ridiculously handsome ninja in front of her.

He shifted slightly to face her directly. Sayuri didn't miss her sleeping teacher's left hand move up to latch on to the mystery man's pant leg, as if to prevent him from pulling away. Under his intense scrutiny, she felt herself blushing; he was just so…hot! Even hotter than Genji-kun, if that was possible.

"I don't feel like introducing myself to you," he replied coldly. "And while you might be worried about your sensei," here the blonde paused for a moment and looked down with a smile at the sleeping girl, "it seems she's quite happy here."

Indeed, Hinata's head had tilted slightly when the blonde man had moved to reveal a small smile on her sleeping face. Nevertheless, Haruno Sayuri was not the kind of person to be blown off. She crossed her arms, glaring at him intently. "I still want to know who you are."

Little did she know that the blonde warrior was idly considering hitting her with the same genjutsu he had used to crush his earlier opponent. Instead, however, he raised his left hand and pointed at the Suna hitai-ate around his neck, then at the black mask on his belt. "If you're that interested, go back to the village and ask the Hokage's secretary about these." Naruto narrowed his eyes, clearly showing he had enough of this conversation. "Now leave; you really don't want to see me angry."

She finally got the hint; Gorgeous Guy, as she now thought of him, didn't respect her for being a relative of Sakura like the civilians did. As that was the only authority she had, she nodded tightly and walked off. _Darn, I wouldn't have minded looking at him some more…_

Sayuri was halfway back to the main gate when it hit her. _From Suna, with that mask…that has to be Sakura-oneesan's new boyfriend! Why was he cuddled up with Hinata-sensei?____She gasped in shock.__ Oh no…he's cheating on her!_

The fangirl now had to decide what to do. Her first idea was to immediately march back to the clearing and subject Gorgeous Guy to a tongue-lashing he wouldn't soon forget. The idea of yelling at Gorgeous Guy horrified her, though, so she settled for telling Sakura. _Besides, no one can yell like Sakura-oneesan!_

* * *

Hinata had been having a great dream. Unfortunately, the world shifted, and she woke up to realize that it was not the world that had shifted, just her headrest. She had been lying with her head on someone's legs.

She rolled over to find herself staring into the amused blue eyes of the other person in her dream, and hurriedly sat up. "N-Naruto?" _No, he doesn't like the stutter. _"Naruto-kun? I guess I fell asleep. Sorry."

He laughed, a sound that sent tingles down her spine. "It's ok; you earned a little shut-eye."

She was blushing, and refused to meet his gaze. "Sorry for using you as a pillow…"

He tilted her chin up gently so she was looking at him. "Hey, I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. If I had a problem with it, I would have said something. Naruto grinned, briefly closing his eyes. "Besides, what red-blooded male wouldn't want a pretty girl like yourself using him as a mattress?"

The pink tinge of her earlier blush was nothing in comparison to the deep crimson hue her face had taken on. _Naruto-kun doesn't mind me sleeping on him…?_

"I told that brat Sayuri to come back later; she showed up about five minutes ago. The kid kept alternating between ogling me and glaring at me; it was…bizarre."

Hinata couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips. "I can imagine."

"Oh well…it was better than her behaviour when I'm under my Takeshi Henge. Promise me that you'll keep her from acting the spoiled princess? Anything would be better than a repeat of my time with Sakura under Kakashi-kisama…"

Hinata blinked. _Kakashi-kisama?? _"Ano, Naruto…why do you dislike Kakashi-senpai so much?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well maybe if the porn-addicted bastard had paid any attention to anyone besides his precious Uchiha, I would have more respect for him. I was his 'student' for what, half a year? The only thing he ever taught me was Tree Walking. Even for the chuunin exams, he tried to fob me off on that idiot Ebisu; it was sheer luck that I ran into Jiraiya-sensei. Kakashi has done nothing to deserve my respect., and a great deal to lose it."

Hinata stared at the ground sadly. "You know, after you left, he was one of your most outspoken defenders. I heard he killed several bounty hunters that were hired to hunt you."

Naruto still looked sceptical. "That's great to hear, but it doesn't make up for everything."

She gently laid her hand on his arm. "Just promise me you'll talk to him, ok?"

"…Alright, I promise. But why the interest in Kakashi?"

Hinata looked Naruto straight in the eyes. "I have a lot of respect for him, and I don't want you to hate him," she replied quietly.

The blonde ninja gave Hinata a weak smile before looking at the passing clouds above him. He remained silent for several seconds. "…All I ever wanted from Konoha was the benefit of the doubt once in a while. I'll give Kakashi a chance to explain himself."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

* * *

A Haruno in the grip of rage is a fearsome sight to behold. Right now, Haruno Sayuri was stalking towards Hokage Tower, and civilians were ducking for cover. Even the nice old lady that gave her free pocky whenever she went by – _anything for a relative of Sakura-sama, Sayuri-sama! Enjoy! _– hurriedly went inside and closed her door. Sayuri saw none of it, so focused was she on her goal.

_How DARE he?! Sakura-oneesan loves him and he throws her aside for someone else? That's just…just…wrong!_

The idea of a boy breaking up with a girl would not truly register with Sayuri until the end of her first relationship, still several years distant. For now, she was firmly of the belief that nothing was over until the girl said it was. It was with this mindset that she stormed into the Tower and brushed aside all opposition before reaching Shizune's desk. "I need to talk with Sakura-oneesan right now. Bring her out."

The Hokage's secretary/apprentice did not take well to this tone of voice. "You will moderate your tone, child, or you will be removed from the premises. Why do you need to speak with Sakura-san?"

"It's really important."

Shizune frowned irritably. "That hardly matters. She isn't here right now. If you must find her, try training ground nine."

Sayuri nodded sharply and stomped off. Shizune watched the child go. _A life lesson for you, kid. Try not to piss off anyone with the power to make your life a living hell._ She picked up a book from the drawer of her desk and turned over several pages._ Let's see…ah yes, under D-Rank Hunter/Retrieval, 'Find and return Tora the cat'._ The secretary grinned evilly._ I think I might just have to issue your squad mates the day off, just as this is assigned to Team Seven…_

Shizune blinked. That idea was surprisingly cruel. She made a mental note to take 'before' and 'after' pictures of the young genin.

* * *

Sakura's routine had her practicing the super strength technique after lunch on training field nine. She was quite pleased with her progress, having mastered the second stage and achieved a partial control of the third. Today, though, no accomplishments could remove the dark cloud of despair that hovered over her.

_I'm such an idiot…why would he forgive me so easily, after everything that happened? He's right; I'm not worthy of his forgiveness. I have to earn it somehow. I know that he was just lashing out yesterday; he has to have some love for me left, deep down. I just need to bring it back to the surface. Oh, Naruto…I'll make you happy again. I swear it on my nindo._

Now somewhat reassured, she was able to focus on her efforts more, and the nearby foliage suffered as a result.

With a resounding crash, a sizable tree came thundering to the ground, missing a certain genin by inches. Sayuri screamed, and Sakura's head whipped around. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was there. Hi Sayuri-chan."

The white-faced girl was frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at the tree that came within a hairsbreadth of killing her.

"Sayuri-chan? You know better than to distract me when I'm training. So what do you need me for?"

The twelve-year-old finally turned around to face Sakura again. Under different circumstances, the terrified look her cousin was giving her would have made her laugh.

"Oh, and congratulations on making genin!" Sakura said, she tried to smile, but it proved very difficult for her at the moment.

"Umm…arigatou, Sakura-oneesan."

"So…why are you here again? You should be getting to know your new teammates."

"I…I was going to meet with Hinata-sensei and Genji-kun for something – I think it was for training – but when I got there I saw a Rock-nin! Only he was tied up so it was safe but then I saw this _hot _older guy about your age and he was sitting down against a tree and –"

"Whoa, slow down."

Sayuri nodded impatiently. "So he was sitting there, and Hinata-sensei was asleep and all cuddled up with him, and he told me to go away. So I asked who he was, and he wouldn't tell me, but he showed me his Suna hitai-ate and this crazy black mask with a red wolf on it and told me to ask Shizune-san who he was if I really wanted to know. Then I left to go back to the village, but on the way back I remembered that boy you said you liked, the one who left Konoha but came back a couple days ago, and it was him! He's cheating on you, Sakura-oneesan, with Hinata-sensei!"

Her little diatribe finished, Sayuri crossed her arms and stood back, ready to let her cousin unleash the wrath of Kami on the pathetic – yet gorgeous – guy who dared to spite her. Instead, Sakura looked away with a sad smile. "Don't worry about it. You should go back to your team."

"But! –"

"He isn't cheating on me, Sayuri, we were never…together. I hope we will be, someday, but…"

Sayuri's dumbfounded expression would have made her laugh if Sakura's head hadn't been filled with images of Naruto and Hinata walking together holding hands; gazing deep into each other's eyes; making out on Sakura's own kitchen table…_where did that come from?! _It amazed her just how much the idea of Naruto with someone else _hurt…_the entire time she had known him, he had been devoted to her and only her. His earlier words about his feelings for her being nothing but an elaborate hoax couldn't be true; they had to have come from his anger. Her mind wouldn't accept any other explanation.

Sakura slumped, and walked away from the training ground. She wasn't going to get anything more out of this session.

* * *

A/N: About Naruto's ability to use minimal/no hand seals when using high ranked jutsus…he trained nothing but chakra control two days out of every week for almost seven years. Including Kage Bunshin training, he has done the equivalent of 57 years of labour: 200 Kage Bunshin; 104 days/year for seven years (minus time spent on missions – negligible) Add to this the beneficial effect on his control caused by training in ninjutsu one day a week for seven years, genjutsu one day a week for seven years, and summoning/fuuinjutsu (both are practiced on the same day) one day a week for those same seven years. Despite the disadvantage he has from having so much chakra (not to mention a massive amount of youkai), Naruto has achieved a level of chakra control comparable to Tsunade's, and a familiarity with his favourite jutsus second to none.

* * *

**(1) **Tetsuhada Kekkei Genkai – literally Iron Skin Bloodline Limit. This trait belongs to one of Iwagakure's most prestigious clans; it is said that two of the previous Tsuchikages have possessed it. Tetsuhada wielders are capable of using their chakra to make their skin iron-hard; it provides a massive defensive bonus along with a major advantage in taijutsu combat, both defensive and offensive – hitting an opponent with an iron fist hurts a lot more than flesh and bone. Ninjas with the Tetsuhada bloodline usually specialize in taijutsu, or to a lesser extent, kenjutsu, as the massive amount of constant chakra input needed to empower the Iron Skin leaves very little for ninjutsu and genjutsu. Ranged attacks are limited to throwing weapons and the odd low-level offensive jutsu.

**(2) **Raiton: Denkou no Zanbatou – literally Lightning Technique: Lightning Zanbatou. B-rank short-to-mid range offensive technique that creates a massive sword composed of electricity for use in combat. It is a similar technique to Baki's Kaze no Yaiba (Wind Blade) but much larger and from a different element. Lightning blades are interesting in that they do not use the same method of sharpening that wind, earth and water weapons do. Instead, the sheer energy is capable of forcibly breaking the bonds between individual molecules, allowing for extremely precise and clean cuts that self-sterilize. Talented Kumo medics are known for using a smaller version of the technique to create high-precision chakra scalpels.

**(3) **Denkou no Funkei – literally Lightning Decapitation. Blade technique preformed in combination with a Lightning Blade.

**(4) **Doton: Maruishi Hougeki – literally Earth Technique: Boulder Bombardment. A-rank technique that allows the user to manipulate any surrounding stone with chakra; as an offensive skill, it launches stones and boulders at the target. Can also be used defensively to block attacks with the manipulated rock; however, this takes far greater chakra control, to the extent that most users ignore it for the simpler Doton: Doryuuheki despite its greater effectiveness.

**(5)** Saru – Monkey

**(6) **Inoshishi – Boar

**(7) **Fuuton: Kajoudageki – literally Wind Technique: Spiral Strike. When Naruto was experimenting with his/Jiraiya's/Minato's Elemental Rasengan idea, this jutsu was something he accidentally came up with; after seeing its usefulness, he decided to invest some time and effort into it. S-rank mid-to-long range offensive technique that creates a beam of spiralling Wind that can be launched at targets. While it is possible to attack with the side of the tube – any matter unlucky enough to get hit by the drill gets shredded – the most effective way to attack is with the tip. At the very tip of the Wind beam, the air particles move far faster than the speed of sound, allowing them to drill through objects extremely quickly. However, due to the amount of force involved, objects that have been drilled into in this manner cannot withstand the strain and will invariably explode.

**(8) **Fuuton: Kaze no Tate – literally Wind Technique: Shield of Wind. B-rank defensive technique that creates a thick disk of spinning air. Anything hitting the shield is not blocked so much as it is deflected; the air spins quickly enough to alter the trajectory of anything hitting it. Size of the shield and speed of the air particles are purely dependant on the user's chakra control and available chakra; in the right hands, the shield could be used to guard against S-rank techniques, but if used incorrectly it would not be able to deflect a single shuriken.

**(9) **Doton: Iwa Kasui – literally Earth Technique: Rock Spikes. B-rank offensive technique that compacts the earth in front of the user to create a set of stone spikes, which are then launched at a target via a chakra pulse. The process involved is very simple and thus requires very little in the way of chakra control. It is easily learned and is one of the first skills an Iwa chuunin or strong genin is given to learn. If the technique was less destructive, it would probably be considered a C-rank.

**(10) **Suiton: Mizuhari – literally Water Technique: Water Needles. C-ranked offensive technique that uses any available moisture to create a series of small needles composed entirely of water. While the liquid is held in a pointed shape, it cannot cause any remarkable damage, making it a useless offensive skill without first 'sharpening' the water by rubbing the molecules together just as one would sharpen a blade of wind chakra. Alternatively, if the water is frozen, the needles are made much more durable and can be used to attack without the need for the sharpening process.

**(11) **Tatsu – Dragon

**(12)** Fuuton: Touketsu Hitofuki – literally Wind Technique: Frozen Gale. C-ranked offensive technique that creates a large gust of cold air. It is often used to slow or stun a foe, as the freezing air can send an average human into hypothermic shock in seconds. It can also be used to flash-freeze water, making it lethal when used in conjunction with Suiton techniques.

**(13)** Ninpo: Demaibakuha – literally Ninja Art: Small Explosion. D-ranked offensive technique where the user detonates a small object that has been previously inundated with the user's chakra to create a small explosion. Larger, more powerful varieties exist. This technique is the basis 

behind exploding tags; upon seeing the effectiveness of chakra explosions, seal experts began work on a way to replicate the effect. While the paper variety is more powerful, the Explosion Art requires far less setup.

**(14) **Doton: Soudai Gosunkugi Taihou – literally Earth Technique: Grand Spike Cannon. S-ranked offensive technique that creates a huge number of jagged spikes and rapidly shoots them at a target or group of targets. The 'cannon' can continue to launch spikes as long as the user continues to pump chakra into the technique, and all projectiles can be manipulated in midair by the user.

**(15) **Ushi – Ox (sometimes referred to as water buffalo or cow)

**(16)**Fuuin: Inryokyfuuin, ichi tsuujite san, KAI! – literally Sealing Technique: Gravity Seal, one through three, RELEASE! This command undoes the S-ranked sealing jutsu Inryokyfuuin. Naruto has multiple gravity seals on his body, which can be released and re-applied either separately or simultaneously, whatever the circumstances require. It is preferable to release individual seals separately, as the body must learn to cope with the suddenly reduced weight; Naruto ignores this when releasing up to four seals at a time because his healing ability takes care of the majority of the problem; that said, if he released all of his seals at the same time, it is likely he would not only knock himself unconscious but would also cause long-term damage to his internal organs.

**(17)** Fuuin: Tsuyoi Inryokyfuuin – literally Sealing Technique: Mighty Gravity Seal. A derivation of the weight seals used for training, the Tsuyoi Inryokyfuuin places gravity seals on the target. The five seals can be activated separately or together, and cause the affected body part(s) to become extremely heavy, far heavier than even the regular version of the technique would cause. Because of this, and also the fact that the skill can be activated or disabled remotely, cause it to be Naruto's weapon of choice when the object of the mission is to capture, not kill. Any resistance can be dealt with promptly by forcing the sealed person to the ground under their own amplified weight. The seal on the forehead can be used to kill; if it is activated on its own, the spinal cord is snapped when the neck cracks forward.

**(18)** Magen: Susamajii Osore – literally Demonic Illusion: Terrible Fear. S-ranked offensive genjutsu used to paralyze opponents; use as a torture technique is also common. What the target experiences varies from victim to victim, but all agree that it subjects the target to a brutal offense that attacks all five senses. By manipulating the sensory receptor nerve clusters in the brain, the target 'experiences' enormous amounts of pain, while fully immersed in an ultra-realistic vision of their greatest, most secret fear; all their senses indicate that this terror has come to pass and is indeed happening to them. The technique cannot be broken as long as the user maintains a flow of chakra to the target's brain. As most powerful techniques do, it has drawbacks; while the chakra cost is not large (by Naruto's standards, anyway) it requires absolute concentration, making it next to useless in a melee fight. Also, all nineteen hand seals MUST be preformed (the sequence cannot be shortened) while maintaining direct eye contact with the target. The first three seals, in fact, are to prevent the target from closing their eyes or looking away; however, eye contact must be established before the technique can be performed.

**(19)** Magen: Kai – literally Demonic Illusion: Release. When the effects of several techniques are in effect upon a target, it is best to release them one at a time. This command dispels any genjutsus on the target, while leaving all other techniques in effect. Better chakra control allows the user to pick and choose which genjutsus (assuming there are more than one in effect) are dispelled.

**Tsukyomi!** YOU SHALL PRESS THE LITTLE GREY BUTTON! YOU SHALL SUBMIT A REVIEW! FEAR THE SHARINGAN! FEAR ITACHI-SAMA! **Tsukyomi, KAI!**


	9. A Day In The Life

Yikes! Well, it was a long time in the making, but I think I'm finally getting back into the game.

For anyone who might be pissed at me about how long this took...yeah, I really don't have an excuse. Bash away, I won't fight back.

* * *

**Chapter 9: A Day In The Life**

* * *

Naruto sighed, and shifted his burdens slightly. Hinata was still feeling a little overwhelmed after the confrontation with the Iwa-nin, so Naruto had offered to take both of their prisoners to ANBU Section Three HQ. Section Three was the Torture and Interrogation branch; he had never been there before, but had met one of the members in the Chuunin exams. _What was his name? Ibuki, Abike, Ibika…something like that. The scarhead guy…funny, he tried to scare us with his little tale of woe; in all honesty, the guy got off lucky. There are far worse fates than what he suffered out there._

The trip wasn't far, and the additional three hundred pounds of Iwa-nin and gear barely fazed him. Naruto soon found himself standing in front of an innocuous little building. Small, painted a soothing shade of yellow, it hardly looked like the kind of place where criminals and prisoners-of-war were questioned.

He opened the door and spoke to the secretary. "Vina tiudri **(1)**. I am uninformed as to Konoha's current political status with Iwa, but please be advised that these two along with two more attacked myself and jounin Hyuuga Hinata. The ninja before you are the only survivors of the Iwa group, and as per protocol, Konoha has jurisdiction over all hostiles captured within its borders. Can you direct me to the holding cells?

The secretary, an unsmiling middle-aged genin with close-cropped black hair, nodded. "Hai, ANBU-san. This way.

They descended several flights of stairs. The walls were immaculately white, and gave the entire building a hospital-like appearance. Something – Naruto couldn't say what – gave it away though; some echo of the fear and pain that had been inflicted here had left an invisible mark. Unexplainable, yet eerie. Naruto ignored it. He had been in far worse places than this one.

Exactly seven stories beneath the ground, the blond Sunagakure jounin stood in front of a thick steel door marked 'G22'. The secretary placed his hand against the middle of the door, and a click was heard before it swung open with barely a whisper. "Chakra sensors," the man explained. "The latest from Konoha R and D, the doors only open when the chakra signature of a person already keyed in is applied to the sensors."

Naruto gave a low whistle. He'd have to get Tsunade to send Gaara a copy of the blueprints; these would be handy.

The first prisoner, Aramaki, was dragged unceremoniously inside. He was untied – hardly a threat, as over two thirds of his tenketsu were closed – and then shackled with chakra cuffs. These weren't as new as the doors were – Suna was already using a more recent version – but they still worked well enough. Any time the wearer attempted to use their chakra, it was absorbed by the cuffs, which then used the stolen energy to further fortify themselves. Given a total lack of chakra for twenty-four hours, they stopped working and opened. However, they were capable of leeching minute amounts of chakra simply by contact, and so were guaranteed to stay on either until removed, or the wearer died. Suna had discontinued using them after two different prisoners escaped their bonds; one by entering a near-death state until the cuffs fell off, and the other by pumping a massive amount of chakra into them, overloading the locking mechanism. Apparently, Konoha had had no such problems yet.

The nameless ninjutsu specialist was disposed of similarly, before the genin secretary turned to Naruto and bowed. "Apologies, ANBU-san, but could I trouble you with a favour?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side quizzically. "Depends what it is."

"I have to feed the prisoners in cells G5 through G19, but high priority prisoners require immediate preliminary questioning. Could I ask you to find Yamanaka-sama and direct her to these new prisoners?"

"Yamanaka…would her given name be Ino?"

"Yes, that is correct. She should be in her office, room B3. It would save me a trip."

"No problem. I'll send her down."

"Arigatou."

As he walked back up the stairs, Naruto pondered this new information. _Ino, a torture and interrogation specialist? Huh…I never thought she had it in her. The entire Yamanaka clan is perfect for the work, but…I'm surprised she had the stomach for it._

It was warm, this deep. He took his mask off and rubbed an arm across his forehead before putting it back in place –

"…Naruto? Sakura said you were in town!"

_Shit. _"Ohaio, Yamanaka-san."

The young woman in question looked at him oddly. "Why so formal?"

"We were never exactly close, Yamanaka-san."

"Sure, but that never stopped you from using my name before. You sound like you don't like me for some reason."

_Nah, just have a blanket distaste for most things Konoha. Nothing personal. _"Of course not, Yamanaka-san."

"Ino. Please."

"Very well, Ino."

"See? That wasn't so bad. Now come on; I have fresh tea in my office and I really want to know where the hell you've been all this time."

"Sorry, but I was actually on my way up to look for you. There are two jounin from Iwa in cells G22 and G27 waiting to be interrogated; the secretary said it was your duty."

"Oh. Well that's out then…still, we should catch up some time. Come find me at – hang on a sec. Were you the one to capture them?"

"One of them. Why?"

"Just an old trick. If the person sees you again, the person who already beat them once – soundly, it seems, as you barely look dirty, let alone injured – then any hopes of escaping drop, along with morale. It makes my job easier. Would you mind?

"Sure, I suppose…although I need to leave soon."

"What time is it now…3:05. I'll be done by 3:30."

The mask hid his surprise well; he hadn't expected this brainless little fangirl to be so competent. "Well, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

True to her word, Ino had finished with both prisoners by 3:25. It had been quite something to watch. Her entire attitude and persona altered when she entered the first cell. Suddenly, Ino was replaced with a happy-to-the-point-of-insanity, joke-cracking bimbo – but every so often, a hint of a much darker, rage-filled psychopathic persona was visible beneath the happy-mask **(2)**. It was far more frightening than if she had been overtly threatening. This new Ino, combined with a deft touch with genjutsu, eerie precision with certain…less than savoury…interrogation tools and her family's mindwalker ability, made her one of the most effective interrogators Naruto had ever seen. The fact that she was both young and pretty made the effects even more drastic; she was able to toy with the victims' lust in addition to their other emotions, further fogging their minds and making any sort of resistance to her methods even more futile. _Mental note…recruit Ino. She's __good__._

As an added bonus, Naruto finally figured out why Hinata and he had been attacked. Apparently Iwa had been waging guerrilla warfare against the numerically stronger Konoha for the past two months. Any and all captives/corpses were explained away by the Tsuchikage or his aides as 'missing-nin', and when pressed, Konoha would receive too-small payments for the supposed rebels. Leaf and Stone would be in open war if only they could gather more concrete evidence.

The cell door closed behind them, and immediately the old Ino was back; the same loud, bossy, gossipy Ino he had attended the Academy with.

"So spill: what have you been doing all this time? And what's the deal with the Suna get-up? Last I checked you were a Konoha missing-nin. And for that matter, how long have you been in ANBU? Is Suna really so desperate that they would hire _you_?"

The last was a joke, and they both knew it. The ninjutsu guy had turned an interesting shade of green when Ino had told him that Naruto was free to 'play' with him some more. She knew that anyone who could have _that _much of an effect on a hardened shinobi wasn't to be trifled with.

Naruto leaned up against the wall and hooked his thumbs in his belt behind his back in an attempt to relax. "Let's see…Suna; I live and work there; five years, two of which as a squad-captain **(3)**; they recruited me right after the jounin exams. I think that answers everything in order."

Ino blinked, and Naruto laughed inwardly. His 'baka' persona never had much of an attention span. "So why Suna? And another question," here her eyes twinkled mischievously, "how many departments did you get invites from?"

"Why Suna? Gaara, mostly…a few other reasons. And to answer the other question…I hadn't even left the arena when the first three divisions requested me. Almost everyone requested me at some point. The only departments that haven't sent me any offers are R and D, and C-Int **(4)**.

Ino's eyes went wide at this, and for good reason. A new jounin was lucky to get one recruitment offer; usually the Corps waited a few years until potentials were more seasoned. Exceptional recruits sometimes got two offers; Ino herself had been propositioned by both Intelligence and Interrogation. Supposedly Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi had both received three offers, with Itachi getting one of those while still chuunin. More than that was unheard of.

Naruto took the look to mean she was sceptical. "Well, it's true…Combat, Black Guard, and Assassination all sent letters while I was still sweaty from my final fight. One from Tracking was slipped under my door, I found that one when I got home; Interrogation sent me theirs the next day; and Intelligence asked me to transfer to them about six months after that."

Ino still looked sceptical. "They wanted _you_ in Interrogation? Why?"

Naruto chuckled briefly. "Worried I might take your job?"

"Haa, as if," Ino briefly huffed in response, before a curious little smile appeared. "Show me your trick. Everyone has one; what's yours?"

He grimaced beneath his mask. "Ino, I don't think this is the best idea."

"Naruto, just do it."

"Ino –"

"Please. I just want to see."

Naruto sighed. He really didn't want to show this to anyone he didn't have to. "Very well."

He took off his mask again, before bending slightly to stare Ino in the eyes. There was at least a foot between their faces, but she was sporting a slight blush; a response he tried to ignore.

Naruto began to channel small amounts of youkai to his eyes.

Ino gasped, and began to shake. He knew exactly what she was seeing; to her, the lights were getting dimmer, and his irises were beginning to turn red. After a few seconds, she would see nothing but utter darkness – except for his eyes, which would be glowing with an inner flame. It was at this point that his victims were weakest against his genjutsu and other skills, but he wasn't about to subject Ino to anything of the sort. He cut off the flow, and she finally snapped her head away, breathing heavily.

He looked away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have –"

Ino clapped her hands together in excitement, which earned her a surprised look from her fellow blonde. "That was awesome! Can you teach me how? Please?"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiastic peer. "Sorry, but I'm probably the only person in the world who can use that particular technique."

She nodded. "Oh, that's right. The Kyuubi lets you do it, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened dramatically. "Uh…not exactly, but, uh…"

Ino inclined her head and looked up at him sympathetically. "Naruto, everyone knows about the Kyuubi now... the bingo book, remember?

Naruto opted to remain silent. Evidently Ino didn't hate him due to the whole Kyuubi incident; a welcome surprise. But he wanted to know why, and knowing Ino, she would talk to fill any gaps in the conversation. Sure enough…

"My dad knew the Yondaime, well enough to know he wasn't going to screw up a Seal."

"Uh, yeah. That's great then."

"…What's gotten into you? I thought you'd be happy."

Naruto faced his fellow blonde with a sombre expression on his face. "Well…I'm not sure exactly how to explain this, but I'm…not a Jinchuuriki anymore…"

* * *

No more than a minute after dropping that particular bombshell of a statement on Ino, Naruto stood in the middle of Training Ground 22 awaiting Hinata and the other members of his new genin team. The corpses of the two dead Rock nins had been removed, giving Naruto nothing to focus on, save for the conversation from moments before.

"_WHAT?! How is that even possible? Naruto, what aren't you telling me?"_

Shit, is that the time? _Ino, we'll have to have this conversation later. Drop by the ANBU barracks tonight after 11:00 and ask for Kuroi. I gotta go."_

"_Naruto, wait just a second –"_

_The sound of her voice was instantly cut off as he disappeared into thin air, to reappear over a kilometre distant seconds later._

So now, he waited patiently for his 'team', and fretted over the upcoming…uncomfortable…conversation.

He wasn't left to his own devices for long, though. The Hyuuga boy walked into the clearing, stopped about ten metres from Naruto, and promptly turned his back.

_Sasuke junior. Lovely display of preteen arrogance there; at least this one isn't an 'avenger'._

Shortly after Genji's arrival, Haruno Sayuri showed up, uncharacteristically quiet. Her face perked up when she saw her black-haired teammate, but she remained silent.

_A small mercy. Kami, if you're up there, thank you._

So far, this team meeting had been eerily like one of his old genin training sessions, to the point that Naruto wondered idly if Hinata would show up late. It was not to be, though, as the distinct sound and _puff_ of smoke announced her arrival via Shunshin.

"Ohaio, Hinata-sensei."

Genji and Sayuri started; apparently they hadn't noticed their teacher's arrival. Both turned around, Sayuri with a glare for him, Genji with a scowl directed at no one in particular.

"Ohaio, Hinata-sensei!"

"Hinata-sama."

The Hyuuga jounin smiled at her students. "Good to see you're all here. As you may or may not be aware, there is a final test that must be passed before you are officially made genin. This test is administered by the jounin-sensei of each team, and is different for everyone."

Sayuri broke in, an incredulous expression on her face. "But that's not fair, sensei! What if someone gets an easy test?"

"All the final exams have about the same level of difficulty; but you're right. Some will find it easier than others. It may be harsh, but life simply isn't fair. This is one of those instances. You have two choices: refuse to take the chance, or try your hardest. I know you all will make the right decision. **(5)**"

Sayuri pouted, but didn't have a snappy answer. Hinata passed out three pieces of coloured chalk, and then continued.

"The rules of my exam are simple. All you have to do is mark me at least once with your chalk before the end of the exam at sundown. If anyone doesn't manage to do so, they will be sent back to the Academy, after they watch any successful teammates eat the dinners I will provide."

Genji raised the first question. "Do we get extra credit if we hit you more than once?"

Naruto suppressed a smirk. _The kid thinks it'll be easy…_

Hinata appeared to think about it for a moment. "Sure, why not."

Sayuri's face lit up, and Genji gave a superior smile. _Heh…good luck. You'll need it._

The genin hopefuls made moves towards their sensei, but she stopped them with raised hands. "You'll notice that each of you has a different colour. This makes it simple to tell who, if anyone, was successful."

Sure enough, when Naruto glanced around, he saw Sayuri with green, and Genji glowering at his pink. Naruto's own was the default white.

"And one last thing. Treat this as if it was a real mission, and me as if I was your enemy. Everyone ready? Ok…go!"

All three lunged at her. A split second before contact was made, Hinata vanished via Kawarimi.

* * *

A little over three hours later, the twitching forms of three children could be seen illuminated in the moonlight. All three were tied to stumps only a few metres from bento boxes filled to the brim with all manner of foods, but they might as well have been miles away. At least then, the delicious scent wouldn't be taunting them. Meanwhile, a young woman approached, and began to address the children.

"That's too bad. I hoped at least _one _of you would rise to the challenge. Instead, I have to leave you here overnight, and in the morning you will return to the academy. Good night. I'll see you in the morning."

She began to walk away, but then turned back, still with a highly disappointed look on her face. "And whatever you do, don't try to escape."

That said, the jounin then scooped the food into a bag, leaving them with empty trays, before departing for Konoha.

Sayuri glared. How _dare _this woman do this? They weren't even genin yet, how could they have been expected to keep up with a jounin?

It had all gone wrong from the very start. After Hinata-sensei escaped the first time, Genji was the first to track her down. Sayuri had watched in fascination as her true love charged. Then in a movement too fast for her eyes to comprehend it, Hinata-sensei grabbed Genji by the arm and flipped him into the dirt. He got up, of course, and tried again, and again. But the hand holding the chalk never came within a foot of Hinata's body.

Eventually, the jounin seemed to get bored with flattening her student, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Takeshi came up to her shortly after that, claiming he had a plan, but that it needed all three of them to work together. Genji, naturally, had ignored the useless baka and went to try again. Sayuri made her own excuses as to why she didn't have to listen to the blonde – if she remembered correctly, she told him he was too far beneath the scions of families with REAL ninja to come up with anything useful, before following her beloved prodigy. Once again, though, Genji was humiliated. Was THIS really how strong jounin were? To be able to manhandle a prodigy like Genji-kun…

Takeshi had pestered both of them a few other times, so she started smacking him. Nothing too cruel, just the kind of thing Sakura-oneesan would do if someone annoyed her. Perfectly normal and acceptable.

He eventually took the hint, and walked away into the trees, disappearing from sight almost immediately. For a few minutes after that, Genji and Sayuri attempted to track down Hinata-sensei. Well…Genji did most of the tracking, and Sayuri was there for moral support. Yeah. That was it. Besides, she wanted to see him cut loose and show everyone what a real prodigy was capable of!

Unfortunately, Hinata-sensei had completely vanished. Wherever she was hiding, it wasn't visible, even to Genji's Byakugan. This lasted for at least ten minutes, before Takeshi appeared again in his latest attempt to annoy them with some nonsense about working together. Genji-kun poked him in the arm, though, with that amazing taijutsu jyuken thing of his, and Takeshi shut up pretty quick. Genji's power had that effect on people.

And then, for the last hour, they had repeated the cycle of Genji getting toyed with by Hinata-sensei while Sayuri looked on in horror, followed by a search for the elusive jounin, followed by yet more one-sided combat. By the end, Genji was extremely pissed off (or the less-emotional form of anger practiced by the majority of Hyuuga) because Hinata-sensei never hit him. Not once. All she ever did was dodge, or re-direct his attacks with throws or blocks. Sayuri knew he was mad because Hinata-sensei hadn't taken him seriously.

And then, seconds after the last sliver of sun dipped below the horizon, she was grabbed by the waist and hauled to the clearing in the middle of the training ground, where she was promptly tied to a stump beside her teammates.

So here she was, stuck for the night, tied to a stump. It was just so unfair!

She was startled out of her thoughts, though, when Takeshi piped up. "Can anyone reach their kunai pouch?"

Sayuri couldn't, and said as much. Genji's grunt indicated a similar predicament.

"Alright…Genji, can you reach my shuriken?"

"Just shut up, baka, my hands are tied and you know that."

Takeshi took a moment to answer; Sayuri got the impression that he was restraining himself. _And so he should! No one gets to insult Genji-kun!_

"If you slipped off one of your sandals, can you reach it with your foot?"

It was Genji's turn to be silent; apparently he hadn't thought of that. _Or more likely, he HAD thought of it, and just didn't feel like doing it. Yeah Genji-kun!_

The Hyuuga boy's answer eventually came. "I can reach it. Now what?"

"Pull one out with your toes and place it flat in my hand; be careful, though, I keep them razor-sharp."

A few tense seconds passed before Genji gave a relieved sigh.

The soft scraping sound of steel on rope was heard. It wasn't long before the sound stopped and Takeshi stood up and pulled out a kunai. He quickly cut Genji and then Sayuri free. The three of them gathered around the empty boxes Hinata had left, before Takeshi spoke again.

"Ok guys, Hinata-sensei said the gates would be shut, so I guess we're stuck outside tonight. It's going to get cold. I'll get some wood for a fire."

With that the blonde jogged off into the forest.

Sayuri and Genji exchanged glances, both feeling slightly intimidated by the calm practicality exhibited by their teammate, before settling down to wait.

* * *

Ten minutes later, he still wasn't back, and the chill was setting in. Both children were starting to shiver. Sayuri was about to ask Genji if they could huddle together for warmth when Takeshi returned with a pile of branches clutched in his arms. He dropped them on the ground with a slight grunt of effort.

_Finally! _Not wasting a moment, Sayuri began to break down some of the smaller pieces down into kindling.

"I can make a fire-bow," Genji commented. This got a slight smile from the blonde, who shook his head. He waited until Sayuri placed the kindling strategically about a few of the larger pieces before running through a series of handseals, ending on Tora.

"Thanks for the offer, but it'll take longer, and it's getting colder fast. **Katon: Senkou! (6)**"

A fist-sized ball of fire launched itself from his mouth to land in the midst of the dry grass and wood chips. Moments later, a healthy fire was crackling away.

Genji and Sayuri exchanged looks. They both knew from their respective families that elemental manipulation wasn't usually taught until chuunin.

Takeshi didn't miss much, it seemed, as he noticed the slight jealousy and anger in Genji's eyes. "A good friend of mine has been a chuunin for several years; he taught me a number of things. It isn't too tricky; if you want, I can show you later."

Genji gave an affirmative grunt, while Sayuri just nodded. The thought of learning elemental manipulation was exciting!

She got back to work and soon had three piles of wood; large, mid-size, and wood chips. Sayuri then stood up, only to find Genji gone. Her eyes darted around for him, and Takeshi answered her unspoken question. "I think he went to get water. Nice of Hinata-sensei to leave us with the cups, huh?"

Sayuri nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

Genji arrived back soon, and sure enough, he came bearing three cups filled with water. With his teammate back, Takeshi sat back from the fire and enjoyed the heat radiating outward from the merrily crackling red-orange flames, before offering to help Sayuri as she got up to get more firewood. She waved him away though, and he sat back down as she wandered off into the woods.

Sayuri decided that camping outside like this was kind of fun. It helped her take her mind off having failed her final genin test.

It didn't take long to gather up enough fallen sticks and branches, so she headed back towards the glowing fire and dropped everything beside the pile of wood they hadn't already used. She decided it would be more than enough to last them the night, so she sat down, her back against a tree.

After a while of sitting in silence, Takeshi spoke up. "If you guys want to sleep, I'll take watch for tonight."

Sleep sounded _really _good right now, but after everything he'd already done, Sayuri didn't feel right about making Takeshi watch over the camp all night. "You've done a lot already. I can do part of it."

Genji didn't say anything, just nodded his head in agreement.

"You sure? I don't mind doing it."

"Well…we were…going to be a team, right? Teamwork and all that?"

Suddenly all three children's heads whipped towards a particular section of the forest; all had heard something. Hinata-sensei stepped into the firelight, and she was…clapping?

"Congratulations, team. You pass. You are now officially genin of Konohagakure no Sato."

Sayuri stared, dumbfounded, at her former-but-maybe-current sensei. It took a moment for Hinata's words to sink in, but then… "YEESSSS!"

* * *

Genji and Sayuri were long gone, likely off to celebrate with friends. Naruto had dropped his Henge, and was standing beside Hinata next to the fire.

"So it's a good thing I didn't get a reservation, isn't it?"

Hinata blushed. "Um…I guess I ruined it, didn't I? I…I hope we can go some other time, maybe?"

She sounded so hopeful he couldn't help but laugh. "Why don't we go now? It's only a little past nine, and I haven't eaten since breakfast. I know you weren't eating anything while you sat there watching us."

Thrilled that her take on the genin test hadn't ruined her not-quite-a-date with Naruto, she simply smiled brightly and nodded.

Naruto grinned back and reached out to take her hand. "Let's ride."

* * *

Exactly three seconds later, the two were standing in front of the Azure Dragon.

Hinata looked at Naruto with some surprise. "How did you manage to put your mask on mid-Shunshin?"

He laughed. "Trick of the trade."

She, however, didn't think it was so funny. "Please, can you take it off?"

The mood grew sombre. "I will. Once we're inside our private booth."

* * *

The two were quickly seated. The dinner rush had ended a while ago, and there were only a few people still there, so their orders were taken immediately. The waitress was a brunette girl, perhaps a year younger than they were, so Naruto said he felt reasonably sure she wouldn't know any uncomfortable truths about him. He undid the mask and slid it under the table before taking a sip of the green tea the girl had provided them with.

"Mm, nice blend they use." Naruto put down the cup and gave Hinata a friendly smile. "So we haven't had much time to catch up. What have you been up to all these years? Aside from training, _that _much is obvious."

She blushed. _I knew it would pay off! _"Um…well, I made it to chuunin when I was thirteen at the exams in Kusagakure..."

"How'd that go? Were they anything like Konoha's exams?"

She looked slightly surprised. "All the villages do different things in their exams. I thought you knew?"

"Nope. Gaara figured I merited chuunin after Konoha's exams, so he promoted me on the spot."

"Really?"

The blonde took another sip from his tea, he then gave Hinata a brief look before answering, a hint of his growing curiosity visible in his eyes. "Yeah. So Kusa, huh…what was it like?"

"It was alright. Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei had me well prepared."

Naruto blanched; thoughts of what Hinata must have gone through left him feeling rather disturbed. "Hang on…you were trained by the crazed snake lady?"

Anyone else insulting Anko in Hinata's presence would be favoured with a Byakugan-based glare, but this was Naruto in front of her. Hinata didn't think she was even capable of glaring at him, regardless of reasoning. Still… "Mm, I wonder what Anko-sensei would do if she knew you called her that?"

Naruto grimaced and shook his head slightly as if trying to expel unwanted mental pictures. "I'd rather not think about it."

Hinata gave him a teasing smile, as she had a pretty good idea what was going on inside Naruto's head right now. "Then please be nice to Anko-sensei, even when she isn't around."

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head nervously, so very much like he used to do when he was younger. "Sure, you got it."

The food arrived just then and conversation dropped off as the two hungry jounin dug in to the veritable feast spread out on the low table before them. It didn't start up again until the various plates had been picked nearly clean and two bowls of anmitsu had been ordered.

Hinata took a sip from her tea before gently placing it back on the table. She covered a smile with her hand as she saw Naruto trying to scoop an overlarge piece of an unidentifiable vegetable into his mouth. _Some things will never change._

Naruto suddenly noticed that Hinata was watching him and realized how awkward he must look. He tried to swallow everything at once, which made the situation only worse. He ended up choking, so he grabbed his tea bowl and gulped down its contents. Even as he was catching his breath, Naruto couldn't help but smile inwardly as he remembered an old conversation. _I guess Temari might be right after all, my table manners could be the death of me one day._

Hinata laughed, but after seeing how Naruto handled his predicament she got that strange feeling this wasn't the first time it happened to him.

Naruto looked sheepishly at the female Hyuuga before him as he rubbed the back of his head again. "Sorry about that. That, ah, really wasn't me at my best, was it?"

Hinata leaned slightly forward and smiled kindly. "You don't have to apologize, I don't mind." _You've changed a lot in the last years…you're stronger and more mature, but you're also harder…and colder. I'm happy because the goofy, fun-loving side of you hasn't disappeared._ She then folded her hands in front of her, indicating that she was ready to continue the conversation. "So how about you, Naruto-kun? What have you been up to all these years?"

He laughed softly and leaned back against the wall, shifting his cushion slightly to make himself more comfortable. "Wow…where to start? Um…well after I left the village, I ran into Jiraiya-sensei and ended up blackmailing him…"

The two were laughing like the old friends they were when their desserts arrived, and this time conversation didn't cease with the presence of food. It did, however, become somewhat more garbled, as both Naruto and Hinata were laughing, eating, and attempting to talk all at once. Not much actual information was conveyed, but both left the restaurant afterwards feeling great – though Hinata did shoot Naruto a disappointed look when he buckled his mask back on before leaving with her to settle the bill.

Hinata had nursed a quiet hope that Naruto would walk her home, but the two parted ways just outside the restaurant.

"Night, Hinata. I suppose I'll be seeing you early tomorrow morning for 'training'; should be fun, huh?"

He turned to go, but Hinata grabbed him in a tight hug before he could walk away.

"Hinata?"

"I…I just want you to know, I'm really glad you're safe."

"Hinata…heh, thanks." He briefly pulled his mask to the side so she could see his genuine, grateful smile. For a moment she could feel her knees turn weak, but the feeling disappeared when the snarling black wolf covered his cheerful face.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata." He looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled again as he gave her a wave.

That night Hinata slept better than she had in months.

* * *

After arriving back 'home' at his quarters in Konoha's ANBU barracks, Naruto went almost directly to the bathroom, pausing only to speak briefly with Hiro about his day at the Academy. He hadn't had a shower since the morning, and was still covered in trace amounts of dried sweat, blood, and soot from the campfire.

He loved the feeling of the water, hot almost to the point of being scalding, pouring out in a steamy torrent onto his back. Over the years, his cave-house had been furnished with many modern contrivances, but hot running water had never been one of them. He made a mental note to check the Konoha library to see if they had made any more progress linking a four-point gravity generation seal with a seven-point self-sustaining kinetic energy manipulation array than he and Jiraiya had…

He shook his head. It was doubtful that more than five or six people in Konoha would even understand what he was thinking about, and even less likely that the library would have notes on such an obscure topic. He'd figure it out eventually. For now, it was just nice to savour the warmth.

Naruto didn't bother to put on a shirt for the short walk across the hallway back to his room, seeing as it would be coming off anyway when he went to sleep. And so it was that a bare-chested Naruto, body still glistening from residual moisture and smelling faintly of herbal soap, stumbled across Konoha's premiere interrogator, who he had completely forgotten about.

Ino eyed him up and down with an approving eye. "Wow, big guy, I don't know what they did to you in Suna, but it sure as hell worked."

Naruto took a couple of steps backwards and looked at Ino with wide eyes; the last time he had been half-naked and alone with a young, pretty woman it hadn't ended well. He had always thought of Matsuri as a surrogate sister…suffice to say, she hadn't felt the same way about him.

"Uh, Ino…what the hell are you doing in my room?"

She pouted slightly. "Forgotten me already have you?"

"Eh? ...oh. Right."

Both ninja turned serious. Ino spoke first. "So…you want to tell me what you meant about you not being a jinchuuriki anymore? I thought the Akatsuki method killed the jinchuuriki involved, and I haven't heard of any other methods with which to dispose of a bijuu. It hasn't escaped, or I'm sure Konoha would have heard about the Kyuubi wandering around – assuming it didn't try to get revenge on us immediately. So…gonna fill me in, or do I have to go inside your head and find out for myself?"

Naruto hit Ino with a glare so dangerous it made her take several steps back. "You will _not _be poking around inside my head without my consent. Consider yourself warned."

A wide eyed Ino nodded furiously. "Uh…sure thing. Sorry. But, ah…aren't you kind of overreacting?"

Naruto realized just then how much killing intent he was focusing on the pretty blonde in front of him, and immediately reigned himself in. _Darn it, what's wrong with me?_ "I'm really sorry, Ino. But... my mind is…my mind is rather different than those you're used to. Even if you didn't simply die…without my consent, your soul would be irrevocably fractured. You could end up brain dead, crazy, or trapped in my mind until your body eventually gives out. Trust me on this one."

Ino nodded again. "Ok, no problem. So how come your mind is so lethal?"

He sighed. "Same reason the Kyuubi's gone. It's a long story. Actually…" he trailed off, thinking.

"Actually what?"

Naruto let out a short laugh. "I realize you're probably hesitant to enter my mind after all that, but that's probably the easiest way to tell you. You don't need to worry; so long as you're with me, you'll be fine."

Ino shot Naruto a quizzical look. "You can enter your own mindscape?"

He nodded. "Sure; done it so often, it only takes a second."

"And the mental traps will be disabled?"

"Well, no, but they will no longer register you as a threat."

Ino gave Naruto a bright smile that almost completely masked her apprehension. "Well then…what are we waiting for?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Sit here with me; I need to be touching you when I start meditating."

The two sat on Naruto's bedroll cross-legged, touching at the knees. Naruto placed a hand on either side of Ino's face, and attempted to ignore the slight blush on her face. He then closed his eyes as his consciousness began to spiral inwards…

* * *

When Temari opened the door ten minutes later she was greeted with the sight of her shirtless captain sitting on his bed holding the face of a purple-clad blonde she recognized as Yamanaka Ino. _Nice, taichou…you sure move fast._

She laughed quietly to herself upon realizing what was actually going on, before settling up against the wall with her book. She would wait until Naruto woke up.

* * *

Author's Notes:

**(1) **Vina tiudri – literally Good Afternoon. A semi-formal greeting.

**(2) **I watched The Dark Knight about four hours before I wrote this scene. Ino's new personality is inspired by the Joker. She doesn't act quite like he does, but the whole laughing, perpetually happy-yet-psychopathic side is all Joker. If possible, she's even more manipulative than he is, too; playing with emotions, toying with the innermost workings of the mind…it helps when you have mind control powers.

**(3) **Just to clarify the timeline… Naruto is 19. He made chuunin at 13, jounin at 14 with immediate ANBU recruitment offers, and was promoted to captain of his own hand-picked squad at 17. At 18, he was further promoted to Leader of Suna's ANBU forces, so he gets to delegate his paperwork when he's on a mission or training (virtually all of his time). He makes no secret of the fact that he is captain of his squad, but his position as chief of the forces is a fact known only to Suna. This position is semi-confidential, and he reveals it to outsiders only when absolutely necessary.

**(4) **R and D – Research and Development. Pretty self-explanatory… C-Int – Counter-Intelligence. These guys have an interesting job; find enemy spies, and then _use _them to feed enemy tacticians mis-information. For example, a counter-intelligence operative might let a spy stumble across 'secret plans' to attack Point A, and instead, have a team attack Point B, or attack Point A at a different date, or in a different way. It's a lovely little game of proverbial cat and mouse.

**(5) **I think this nicely reflects Hinata's view on life at this point in time. Hinata isn't a cynic by any stretch of the imagination, but she sees evidence of just how unfair life can be all the time, a trend that started early in her childhood. She is giving her students this talk to better prepare them for the hard, dangerous life of a ninja ahead, because the better prepared they are, the more likely it is that they will survive.

**(6)** Katon: Senkou – literally Fire Technique: Flash. D-rank technique of limited offensive use where the user spits out a ball of fire capable of travelling a short distance, usually not more than five feet. It is commonly used as one of four introductory techniques taught to experienced genin/new chuunin with a fire alignment to get them used to controlling the elemental aspect of their chakra.

* * *

About Naruto's new "teammates"… yes, they are quite similar to his original team seven, but with a few differences. Firstly, Sayuri can be worse than Sakura on a bad day. However, while Genji can be a stuck up prick, he was raised in a family where he WASN'T the top dog (that honour fell to Hiashi's family), and there were always people around stronger than he was, even if none were in his age group. Additionally, he doesn't have the avenger complex that caused so much trouble. Long story short, Genji is willing to respect someone if they earn it, and Sayuri will follow his lead. It'll still take 'Takeshi' a while, though.

So there we go. Another chapter is done, and I solemnly swear to you it won't take nearly as long before chapter 10 is published. As of this posting, I've got it about half-written. Yay me.


End file.
